Costco misses Q4 earnings consensus though comparables shine

Costco misses EPS consensus by 7 cents in Q4.
Q4 revenue at Costco underperformed Wall Street consensus by $1.66 billion.
Comparables were quite positive, however, rising 8.6% in the international segment.
US comparable growth was notably lower than other geographies.

Clay Webster FXStreet

Costco (COST) stock wavered back and forth afterhours on Thursday after Wall Street's beloved grocery chain missed the consensus on the top and bottom lines but offered up solid comparables across the spectrum.

Costco reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $5.73 in the fiscal fourth quarter, missing the average projection by $0.07. Revenue of $84.4 billion came in $1.66 billion beneath consensus. Net sales for the fiscal fourth quarter increased 8% YoY from $78.2 billion last year.

Meanwhile, comparables didn't look so bad. Data released by the company showed total comparables up 5.7% on a YoY quarterly basis. US comparables grew 5.1%, while Canada saw 6.3% gains, and the International segment saw 8.6% growth.

Costco stock forecast

Costco entered earnings in a notable short-term downtrend since February. Further selling on Friday could send the stock out of the lower support range that began in August 2024. A break there would send bears gunning for the support from April and last autumn near $872.

On the upside, COST would need to overcome the 50-day Simple Moving Average near $856 before meeting the 100-day and 200-day SMAs in the $870s. But based on the earnings situation, expect COST to continue sagging heading into October.

COST daily stock chart

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Author

Clay Webster

FXStreet

Clay Webster grew up in the US outside Buffalo, New York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He began investing after college following the 2008 financial crisis.

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