The sign on the side of a Costco is seen in Hawthorne, California, on April 4, 2025.
Jay L Clendenin | Getty Images
Costco on Thursday posted quarterly earnings and revenue that topped estimates as its sales climbed 8%.
Here’s how the warehouse club retailer did in its fiscal third quarter compared what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $4.28 vs. $4.24 expected
- Revenue: $63.21 billion vs. $63.19 billion expected
Costco’s net income for the three-month period that ended May 11 rose to $1.90 billion, or $4.28 per share, compared to $1.68 billion, or $3.78 a year earlier. Revenue rose from $58.52 billion in the year-ago period.
Comparable sales, an industry metric that takes out one-time factors like store openings and closures, rose 8% and e-commerce sales rose nearly 16% compared with the year-ago period, excluding gas and the impact of changes to foreign exchange.
As tariffs raise economic worries, and potentially consumer prices, Costco could stand to benefit. Unpredictable tariff policy could help drive more customers to the warehouse club, which is known for its competitive prices and bulk discounts, and encourage them to renew membership. Its clubs also sell discounted gas and groceries, which are steadier traffic drivers even when consumers pull back on spending. And compared with some other retailers, Costco has a stronger hand in price negotiations with suppliers because of its large size.
Unlike many other retailers, Costco does not provide an annual outlook. It is expected to share more details about the quarterly results on an earnings call that’s scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.
On the company’s earnings call in March, CEO Ron Vachris said customers rely on Costco more in a challenging economy.
“In uncertain times, our members have historically placed even greater importance on the value of high-quality items at great prices, and our teams will continue to rise to this challenge by leveraging our global buying power, strong supplier relationships and innovation,” Vachris said at the time.
About a third of Costco’s U.S. sales are goods brought in from other countries, with less than half of those imports coming from China, Mexico and Canada, Vachris said in March.
Yet tariffs could also add expenses for Costco, which could mean higher prices for shoppers. Earlier on Thursday, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said the retailer had already raised prices on some consumer electronics because of tariffs. Cosmetics company E.l.f. Beauty announced a price increase on its makeup last week. And Walmart CFO John David Rainey warned earlier this month that higher prices were coming to the discounter’s stores and website in late May or June.
As of Thursday’s close, shares of Costco are up about 10% so far this year. That has outpaced the S&P 500’s less than 1% gains during the same period.
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