Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) has reported its March retail sales results for the five weeks ended April 3, 2022. It is an American multinational corporation, which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores.
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The company reported net sales of $21.61 billion, which grew 18.7% year-over-year from $18.21 billion. Additionally, for the 31 weeks ended April 3, 2022, Costco’s net sales stood at $130 billion, up 16.7% from $111.37 billion recorded in the prior-year period.
Sales Metrics in Detail
During March, comparable sales rose 17.2% year-over-year across all regions. Remarkably, U.S. comparable sales were up 19.1%, while e-commerce sales increased 8.9% from the same period last year. Excluding gasoline prices and foreign exchange rates impact, overall comparable sales grew 12.2%, with U.S. comparable sales surging 12.7%.
For 31 weeks ended April 3, 2022, comparable sales jumped 15.1% year-over-year, with U.S. comparable sales jumping 16.1% and e-commerce sales increasing 12.5%. Excluding gasoline prices and foreign exchange rates impact, overall comparable sales rose 10.8%, while U.S. comparable sales increased 11.1%.
Markedly, due to the inclusion of one additional shopping day versus last year in this year’s five-week March retail month, total and comparable sales had a favorable impact of 1.5%-2%.
Wall Street’s Take
Impressed by Costco’s March numbers, Robert W. Baird analyst Peter Benedict reiterated a Buy rating and a price target of $600 (0.1% downside potential).
Benedict considers Costco’s valuation to be elevated but remained bullish based on the company’s strong membership trends and enriched value, which he expects to provide decent profitability in the coming period.
The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic about the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 13 Buys and four Holds.
The average Costco price target of $599.82 implies that shares are fully valued at current levels. Shares have jumped 63% over the past year.
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