Core Insights - Costco Wholesale Corp. achieved record pie sales during the Thanksgiving season, selling 4.5 million pies in three days leading up to Thanksgiving 2025, marking a 500,000 pie increase from 2024 [1][4] - The company reported Q1 revenue of $67.31 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $67.14 billion, with adjusted earnings of $4.50 per share, exceeding expectations of $4.27 per share [2][3] - Net sales for the first quarter increased by 8.2% year-over-year, while total comparable sales rose by 6.4% year-over-year [3] Sales Records - Costco sold an average of approximately 7,000 pies per warehouse location in just 72 hours before Thanksgiving [4] - The company set a record on Halloween 2025, selling 358,000 whole pizzas in a single day [4] - On Black Friday, Costco's e-commerce division generated over $250 million in non-food online orders, marking a record for the company [4] Analyst Ratings - Following the earnings report, Bernstein analyst Zhihan Ma maintained an Outperform rating on Costco and raised the price target from $1,134 to $1,146 [3]

Core Insights - Instacart has been utilizing a practice known as surveillance pricing, which involves charging different prices for identical items based on customer data, a method that has roots in its 2022 acquisition of Eversight, an AI pricing company [1][6][8] - A recent investigation revealed that prices for the same grocery items on Instacart can vary by up to 23% between different customers, indicating a significant level of price discrimination [3][6][12] - The pricing strategy employed by Instacart is likened to dynamic pricing models used in other industries, raising concerns about the fairness and transparency of pricing for essential goods [2][16] Pricing Variability - Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collaborative found that 75% of products had different prices for each user, with an average shopping basket showing a price variation of about 7%, potentially costing families around $1,200 annually [1][6] - Personal experiences from users indicate that price fluctuations can be substantial, with items like bacon and butter showing price differences of 19% and 52% respectively [10][11] - Instacart's pricing changes are not always aligned with typical grocery inflation, which was reported at about 2.7% over the past year, suggesting that the variability is driven by algorithmic pricing rather than market conditions [12] Algorithmic Pricing Practices - Instacart's algorithms are designed to set individualized prices based on customer data, often without the customer's knowledge, leading to a lack of transparency in pricing [6][8] - Despite claims from Instacart that their pricing tests are randomized and not based on personal characteristics, disclosures in New York indicate that personal data is indeed used to calculate fees [8][9] - The company has faced scrutiny and has temporarily halted pricing experiments at certain retailers following the investigation, although it has not fully acknowledged the extent of its algorithmic pricing practices [7][8] Legislative Response - In response to the findings, lawmakers are considering legislation to ban surveillance pricing, with the "One Fair Price Act" introduced to prevent companies from charging different prices based on personal data [16][17] - Other states, including California, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, are also exploring similar measures to protect consumers from price discrimination practices [17]

Core Insights - Costco Wholesale Corporation reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings of $4.50 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by 19 cents, with revenue increasing 8.3% year-over-year to $67.3 billion [1] - Membership fee revenue grew by 14.0% to $1.33 billion, outperforming forecasts [1] - Despite strong earnings, Costco shares fell nearly 2% in afternoon trading, contributing to a 5% decline in stock value for 2025, underperforming compared to Walmart's nearly 30% gain and the S&P 500's 16% rise [2] E-commerce Performance - Digitally enabled comparable store sales surged by 20.5% in the latest quarter, while overall comparable store sales increased by 6.4% [2] - The company expressed optimism regarding the growth of digital sales, expecting them to outpace average sales growth over the long term, as stated by CFO Gary Millerchimp [3] Membership Revenue - The increase in membership fee revenue indicates strong customer engagement and loyalty, contributing significantly to overall revenue growth [1][4] - Costco did not provide a full-year outlook, leaving investors with uncertainty regarding future performance [4]

Core Insights - Costco Wholesale Corp. reported first-quarter revenue of $67.31 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $67.14 billion [1] - The company achieved adjusted earnings of $4.50 per share, surpassing estimates of $4.27 per share [1] Financial Performance - Membership fees increased to approximately $1.33 billion, up from $1.17 billion in the same quarter last year [2] - Costco operates 923 warehouses, with 633 located in the U.S. [2] - The company ended the first quarter with approximately $16.22 billion in cash and cash equivalents [2] Stock Performance and Analyst Ratings - Following the earnings announcement, Costco shares fell 1.4% to trade at $872.06 [2] - Bernstein analyst Zhihan Ma maintained an Outperform rating and raised the price target from $1,134 to $1,146 [3] - Baird analyst Peter Benedict maintained an Outperform rating but reduced the price target from $1,125 to $1,000 [3] - Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman maintained an Outperform rating with a price target of $1,100 [3]

COST attracted thee price-target cuts after the event, as well as two bull notesCostco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) stock is 1.7% lower to trade at $869.90 at last glance, despite the warehouse club retailer reporting an earnings and revenue beat for the fiscal first quarter.The security has attracted three price-target cuts and two hikes following the event, with Bernstein raising its objective to $1,146 from $1,134. The majority of analysts lean bullish toward COST, with 20 of the 34 in coverage sporting ...

A handful of remaining major companies reported their quarterly results this week, including Oracle (ORCL) and Broadcom (AVGO). The Q3 earnings season has largely brought solid results. As of Dec. 5, 99% of S&P 500 companies have reported, according to FactSet data, and analysts estimate a 13.4% jump in earnings per share during the third quarter. If it holds, that figure would mark the fourth straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth and an acceleration from the 12% earnings growth rate reported i ...

Financial Performance - Costco Wholesale reported an 8.2% increase in net sales for Q1 of fiscal 2026, totaling $65.98 billion, up from $60.99 billion in the same quarter of the previous year [1] - Comparable sales increased by 6.4% across the business [1] - Net income rose from $1.79 billion to $2 billion, marking an 11.7% year-on-year increase [1] - Total revenue reached $67.31 billion, which included $1.33 billion from membership fees [2] - Operating income increased to $2.46 billion from $2.20 billion in 2024 [2] - Income before income taxes was reported at $2.58 billion, with a tax provision of $582 million [2] Sales Growth - The company recorded sales gains of 5.9% in the US, 6.5% in Canada, and 8.8% in other international markets [1] - Online sales experienced significant growth of 20.5% [1] Warehouse Operations - At the end of the quarter, Costco operated 923 warehouses globally, including 633 in the US and Puerto Rico, 114 in Canada, and various locations in other countries [2][3] - The company maintains e-commerce platforms in multiple countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, the UK, and the US [3] Legal Actions - In early December 2025, Costco filed a lawsuit against the US administration to pause tariff collections and recover import duties paid under recent global import taxes, reflecting ongoing legal challenges related to tariff policies introduced in 2025 [4]

Group 1 - Proactive provides fast, accessible, informative, and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience [2] - The news team covers medium and small-cap markets, as well as blue-chip companies, commodities, and broader investment stories [3] - Proactive's content includes insights across various sectors such as biotech, pharma, mining, natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto, and emerging technologies [3] Group 2 - Proactive is committed to adopting technology to enhance workflows and content production [4] - The company utilizes automation and software tools, including generative AI, while ensuring all content is edited and authored by humans [5]

Let's bring in Kevin Green, senior markets correspondent, right away to help set up the action today. All right, KG, you called this one yesterday. You said when we saw some red uh I'm wearing red today.Hopefully that does not send that signal to the markets. Um but you called it. You said don't be surprised if we turn green and we did halfway through the day on the S&P 500.What was it about the construction of yesterday that made you say that. >> Well, it was the futures market. uh we obviously saw a drop ...

Core Viewpoint - Costco Wholesale Corporation has released its fiscal Q1 earnings results, marking a significant moment for the company as it continues to attract interest from investors [1]. Group 1: Earnings Results - The fiscal Q1 earnings results indicate Costco's ongoing performance and potential for growth in the retail sector [1]. Group 2: Company Interest - The company is noted for its appeal to both beginner and advanced investors, suggesting a broad interest in its stock [1].