Costco Canada comp sales up 6.4% in Q1 fiscal 2024

Costco Wholesale surpassed financial analyst estimates for quarterly sales and profit for its first quarter, fiscal 2024 with comparable sales for Canada up 6.4 per cent for the 12 week period ending November 26, 2023.

Comparable sales for the company increased 3.8 per cent with comparable sales (adjusted) for Canada up 8.2 per cent and 2.6 per cent for the U.S. E-commerce comparable sales gained 6.3 per cent.

Costco says it’s seen a surge in sales for fresh food, sundries and its private label Kirkland Signature. It also said in a call to analysts that it is starting to see some prices come down, mostly thanks to lower shipping costs, but nothing yet on food prices.

On the food side, Costco buyers have not seen many items priced lower. “A few things are up and a few things are down, but no giant trend either way,” Costco Wholesale CFO Richard Galanti told analysts, “we’ll have to wait and see.”

Total revenues rose 6.1 per cent to $57.8 billion in the first quarter, compared with analysts’ estimates of $57.72 billion, according to LSEG data, reports Reuters.