Shares of Costco (NASDAQ:COST) slipped in after-hours trading after the retailer reported earnings for its third quarter of Fiscal Year 2024. Earnings per share came in at $3.78, which beat analysts’ consensus estimate of $3.70 per share.
Sales increased by 9.1% year-over-year, with revenue hitting $58.52 billion. This beat analysts’ expectations by $520 million and was driven by growth in adjusted comparable sales. When breaking down these numbers into geographical segments, growth was as follows:
- U.S. 6.0%
- Canada 7.4%
- Other International 8.5%
- Total Company 6.5%
- E-commerce 20.7%
Costco Returns $9B to Shareholders
During the past 36 weeks, Costco returned $9 billion to shareholders. Dividends made up $8.527 billion, while buybacks made up the remaining. The firm has regularly repurchased its shares in each of the most recent quarters (as demonstrated in the image below).
Is COST Stock a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on COST stock based on 20 Buys, six Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 64% rally in its share price over the past year, the average COST price target of $810.32 per share implies that shares are fairly valued. However, it’s worth noting that estimates will likely change following today’s earnings report.
