Costco (COST) Reports Q3 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

For the quarter ended May 2023, Costco (COST) reported revenue of $53.65 billion, up 2% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $3.43, compared to $3.17 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $54.57 billion, representing a surprise of -1.69%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +3.31%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $3.32.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how Costco performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Comparable sales - Total Company: 0.3% versus the nine-analyst average estimate of 2.82%.

• Number of warehouses - Total worldwide: 853 versus the seven-analyst average estimate of 854.

• Comparable sales - U.S. -0.1% versus 4.58% estimated by seven analysts on average.

• Comparable sales - Canada: -1% versus 4.28% estimated by four analysts on average.

• Number of warehouses - United States and Puerto Rico: 587 versus the four-analyst average estimate of 586.75.

• Total paid members as of quarter end: 69100 versus 68965.03 estimated by three analysts on average.

• Number of warehouses - Japan: 32 versus 31.5 estimated by two analysts on average.

• Geographic Revenue- Canada: $7.27 billion versus $7.57 billion estimated by three analysts on average.

• Geographic Revenue- Other international: $7.33 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $7.18 billion.

• Geographic Revenue- United States: $39.05 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $40.31 billion.

• Revenue- Membership fees: $1.04 billion versus the 10-analyst average estimate of $1.05 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +6.1%.

• Revenue- Net sales: $52.60 billion versus $54.03 billion estimated by 10 analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +1.9% change.

View all Key Company Metrics for Costco here>>>

Shares of Costco have returned +4.4% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.4% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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