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Costco Wholesale (COST) 2025 Update / Briefing Transcript
CostcoCostco(US:COST)2025-02-05 22:02

Costco Wholesale (COST) 2025 Update Summary Industry and Company Overview - The conference call pertains to Costco Wholesale, a leading retail company known for its membership-based warehouse club model [1] Core Points and Arguments - Sales Performance: - Net sales for January reached $19.51 billion, marking a 9.2% increase from $17.87 billion in the same month last year [3] - Comparable sales in the U.S. increased by 9.2%, while Canada saw a 5.7% increase, and other international markets reported a 1.1% increase [3] - E-commerce sales grew by 13.6% [3] - Comparable Sales Excluding Gas and FX: - Comparable sales excluding the impacts of gasoline prices and foreign exchange were as follows: U.S. at 9.2%, Canada at 12.3%, and other international at 10% [3] - Traffic and Frequency: - Comparable traffic increased by 7.1% globally and in the U.S. [4] - Impact of Foreign Exchange: - Foreign currency fluctuations negatively impacted total and comparable sales, with Canada down approximately 7.6% and other international down approximately 9.1% [4] - Gas Price Inflation: - Gas price inflation positively impacted total reported comparable sales by approximately 0.1% [5] - Average Transaction Value: - The average worldwide selling price per gallon of gas increased by approximately 1.2% year-over-year, with the average transaction value up about 0.4% [5] Merchandise Highlights - Category Performance: - Food and sundries showed positive high single-digit growth, with strong performance in cooler, candy, and frozen foods [6] - Fresh foods increased by low double digits, particularly in meat and produce [7] - Non-food items also saw low double-digit growth, with notable performance in gift cards, toys, seasonal items, and jewelry [7] - Ancillary business sales rose by mid single digits, with pharmacy, optical, and food court being the top performers [7] Forward-Looking Statements - The February reporting period will cover the four weeks from February 3 to March 2, with results to be announced alongside Q2 quarterly results on March 6 [8] Additional Information - The call included forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ from those projected [2] - The company does not commit to updating forward-looking statements except as required by law [2]