Costco Shares Fall After Comparable Store Sales Drop Along With Gas Prices
Key Takeaways Costco shares fell more than 2% on Friday after comparable store sales dropped in June as gas prices tumbled.
The retailer reported average worldwide gas prices were down 24% per gallon year-over-year.
The company said leaving out changes in gas prices and foreign exchange rates, comparable sales would have been up.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) shares dropped after the biggest U.S. warehouse retailer’s comparable store sales slipped because of lower gas prices.
Costco reported comparable store sales fell 1.4% last month, dropping 2.5% in the U.S. and 0.6% in Canada. They rose 4.5% in other international markets.
The company indicated gas price deflation negatively impacted comparable sales by 4%. It added that the average worldwide selling price was down 24% per gallon from June 2022.
Taking out the impacts of changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange rates, Costco said comparable store sales were up 3%.
Overall revenue came in at $22.86 billion, 0.4% more than a year ago, but less than May’s increase of 1.2%. ECommerce sales declined 0.7%. However, that was far smaller than the 7.6% slump the month before. The average amount spent per visit slid 5.4%.
Despite Friday's losses, shares of Costco remained in positive territory for the year and were up over 15% year-to-date.
Source: Investopedia
