Costco beats on profits as online sales surge, stock jumps 4% (COST)

Mike Blake/Reuters

• Costco shares jumped early Friday after the company reported second-quarter profits that topped Wall Street’s expectations. 
• The wholesale retailer also announced plans to raise its minimum wage.
• Watch Costco trade in real-time.

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Shares of the wholesale retailer Costco jumped 4% early Friday after the company reported second-quarter profits that topped Wall Street’s expectations, though sales fell short of estimates.

Here’s what Costco reported, along compared with what analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting:

• Adjusted earnings per share (EPS): $2.01 versus $1.69 expected.
• Revenue: $35.4 billion versus $35.7 billion expected. 

Costco’s quarterly results show its e-commerce sales are far outpacing other segments of its business. The company’s adjusted comparable sales for the second-quarter (the 12 weeks ending February 17) surged 25.5% across e-commerce. In-store sales rose by 7.2%, 6%, and 4.8% across US, Canada, "other international" markets, respectively. 

The company also said on its quarterly earnings call that it would raise its minimum wages from $14 and $14.50 up to $15 and $15.50, respectively. Costco’s decision comes as the US experiences an increasingly tight labor market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday morning said the national unemployment rate fell to 3.8%.

Costco was up 11% this year, but is still 12% below its record high of $245.16 set last September.

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Rebecca Ungarino)