Business
Costco tops Wall Street’s sales and revenue expectations
Customers walk in the parking lot outside a Costco store on Dec. 2, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
Costco on Thursday surpassed Wall Street’s quarterly expectations and posted year-over-year sales growth of 8.2% as the retailer attracted more digital sales and opened new locations.
The warehouse club does not share a full-year outlook.
On the company’s earnings call, CFO Gary Millerchip said e-commerce gains were one of the strengths of the quarter. Digital sales jumped by 20.5% year over year. Traffic on its website increased 24% year over year and traffic on its app shot up 48%. Same-day delivery service offered through Instacart in the U.S. and Uber and DoorDash internationally grew at a faster pace than overall digital sales.
Costco had a positive start to the busiest weeks of the holiday season, too. Millerchip said Black Friday was a record-breaking day for the warehouse club’s U.S. e-commerce business, generating over $250 million in non-food orders.
Here’s how Costco did in its fiscal first quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $4.50 vs. $4.27 expected
- Revenue: $67.31 billion vs. $67.14 billion expected
Costco has attracted new members and higher sales at its clubs and online as U.S. consumers across incomes seek value while shopping for groceries, household essentials, holiday gifts and more.
Along with its warehouse club competitors, Costco has gained traction with younger customers who are signing up for memberships. Costco has also benefitted from a membership fee increase in the U.S. and Canada, which took effect in September 2024, and kicked in as new members signed up or as existing customers’ renewed their annual memberships when they lapsed.
In the three-month period that ended Nov. 23, Costco’s net income rose to $2 billion, or $4.50 per share, from $1.80 billion, or $4.04 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue increased to $67.31 billion from $62.15 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Comparable sales, an industry metric that takes out the impact of one-time factors like store openings and closures, increased 5.9% in the U.S. and 6.4% across the globe.
Sales in non-food were led by pharmacy, gold and jewelry, tires, small electrics and apparel, which grew by double-digits year-over-year, Millerchip said.
In the first quarter, Costco opened eight new warehouse clubs, including a relocation in Canada, its third location in France, four new locations in the U.S. and two additional Canadian business centers, CEO Ron Vachris said on the company’s earnings call. Business centers tend to sell bulk items intended for restaurants and other types of businesses. Those additional locations bring its total store count to 921 around the world.
He said the company plans to continue to open 30 or more clubs per year in future years.
As a warehouse club, Costco relies on membership fees to boost its revenue and help keep the price of its items low. With higher tariffs, however, the retailer has dealt with rising costs. About a third of Costco’s U.S. sales come from imported goods.
Inflation “remained relatively consistent with recent quarters,” Millerchip said. He said in grocery, Costco saw higher inflation in commodities such as beef, seafood and coffee, but that was offset by lower inflation in eggs, cheese, butter and produce.
In non-food, he said Costco saw low single-digit inflation for the third consecutive quarter, primarily driven by gold and imported goods.
Millerchip said on the earnings call that Costco has looked for ways to reduce the impact of the duties, including sourcing more items from the U.S., consolidating buying across the globe to lower the cost of goods and swapping out categories or items to ones that aren’t as exposed to steep tariff costs.
Its private label, Kirkland Signature, is another way to offset tariff prices because it has more control over the supply chain, he said.
In late November, Costco sued the Trump administration to get a full refund of new tariffs that it has paid so far this year and to block those import duties from being collected from the company as it waits for a Supreme Court ruling on the duties.
As of the end of the quarter, Costco had 81.4 million total paid members, up 5.2% year over year and 145.9 million cardholders, up 5.1% year over year, Millerchip said. Its renewal rate in the U.S. and Canada was 92.2% and its worldwide rate was 89.7%, slipping a bit as more customers sign up for memberships online and those members renew at a slightly lower rate.
As of Thursday’s close, Costco’s shares have declined nearly 4% so far this year. That trails the S&P 500’s 17% gains during the same period. However, over the past five years, Costco’s stock has jumped by 141%. The company’s stock closed at $884.48 on Thursday, bringing its market value to $392.67 billion.
Business
Vets to be legally required to publish price lists and cap prescription fees
Vets will be legally bound to prescription fee caps and publishing price lists among new measures which will start coming into force later this year, the competition watchdog has announced.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its final reforms for the sector will help pet owners better navigate the vet services market.
Other legally binding measures will include a price comparison website and mandatory branding by the large groups to boost competition and drive down prices.
The CMA said pet owners using a vet practice that is part of a larger chain can expect to see changes before Christmas, including standard price lists.
The measures follow the CMA finding that fees have risen at almost twice the rate of inflation, with pet owners not being given enough information about their vet and the prices of treatments.
Martin Coleman, chairman of the independent Inquiry Group, said: “This is the most extensive review of veterinary services in a generation, and today’s reforms will make a real difference to the millions of pet owners who want the best for their pets but struggle to find the practice, treatment and price that meets their needs.
“Too often, people are left in the dark about who owns their practice, treatment options and prices – even when facing bills running into thousands of pounds.
“Our measures mean it will be made clear to pet owners which practices are part of large groups, which are charging higher prices, and for the first time, vet businesses will be held to account by an independent regulator.
“Our changes put pet owners at the centre but also help vets by enhancing trust in the profession and protecting clinical judgment from undue commercial pressure – and that is important to ensure our pets continue to get the best care.”
The CMA said practices must publish a comprehensive price list for standard services, including consultations, common procedures, diagnostics, written prescriptions and cremation options under its new rules.
Prescriptions – for which “many” practices charge £30 or more for each – are to be capped at £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for any additional medicines.
Practices must also provide a written estimate in advance for any treatment expected to cost £500 or more, including aftercare costs, as well as an itemised bill.
Emergency care will be the only exception for written estimates.
Prices and information about who owns the surgery are to be made available to pet owners through the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) ‘Find a Vet’ service, which will share the data with third-party comparison sites.
Vet businesses must make it clear whether they are part of a group or an independent business, with details of group ownership to be displayed on signs at the surgery and online.
British Veterinary Association president Rob Williams said: “The majority of the CMA’s measures focus on increasing transparency and information, which will help pet owners make more informed choices and support competition, which is a really positive step.”
He added: “Delivering highly skilled veterinary medicine is costly and whilst we recognise prices have risen sharply in recent years this is due to a number of factors, including the higher costs all businesses are experiencing – and vet practices are not immune.
“Plus, thanks to advances in diagnostics and medical technology over the last 20 years, vets can now do much more to manage disease and injury in animals, whereas in the past the only option available may have been to euthanase.
“Owners today also have a greater expectation of their vet, with many expecting human quality healthcare for their pets and whilst this is possible to deliver, it comes at a cost.”
Business
Gold price prediction today: Pressure on gold prices to continue on March 24, 2026 amid US-Iran war? Check outlook – The Times of India
Gold price prediction today: Gold prices are likely to remain range-bound in the near future, says Praveen Singh, Head Currencies and Commodities, Mirae Asset ShareKhan
Source link
Business
Estée Lauder is in talks to merge with Puig amid ongoing turnaround plan
An Estée Lauder pop-up store is seen inside a Daimaru store on Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China, Aug. 6, 2021.
Costfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Estée Lauder Companies said Monday that it is in talks with Spanish beauty group Puig to potentially merge the two companies.
“No final decision has been made, and no agreement has been reached,” Estée Lauder said in a statement.
Shares of the U.S. beauty company were down nearly 8% following the news, which was first reported by the Financial Times. Puig’s stock rose roughly 3%.
Puig owns major beauty brands including Charlotte Tilbury, Jean Paul Gaultier and Rabanne. The companies did not disclose any financial details of the potential deal.
Estée Lauder has been struggling amid ongoing headwinds from tariffs and its restructuring as it enacts its “Beauty Reimagined” turnaround plan to revitalize the business. In its second-quarter earnings report last month, the beauty retailer said it’s expecting a $100 million hit to its full-year profitability due to tariff impacts.
Estée Lauder’s stock has dropped roughly 25% this year.
-
Sports1 week agoJapan suffers shocking collapse to Venezuela in World Baseball Classic
-
Entertainment1 week agoStrategic oil stocks to be released ‘immediately’ in Asia and Oceania: IEA
-
Business1 week agoNew Income Tax Act 2025 To Take Effect From April 1: 10 Key Changes That Will Affect Your Money
-
Sports1 week agoTransfer rumors, news: Real Madrid open to Camavinga exit, as Premier League clubs circle
-
Sports1 week agoPCB files complaint over allowing Bangladesh to take review on penultimate ball – SUCH TV
-
Business7 days agoStocks and pound rise as US rate call approaches
-
Tech6 days agoJustice Department Says Anthropic Can’t Be Trusted With Warfighting Systems
-
Sports6 days agoMarch Madness 2026 – How to watch in SA, start time, schedule, TV channel for NCAA championship basketball tournament
