The central theses
- Costco shares fell more than 2% on Friday after comparable store sales fell in June due to falling gasoline prices.
- The retailer reported that average global gasoline prices fell 24% per gallon year over year.
- The company said comparable sales would have increased excluding changes in gas prices and foreign exchange rates.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) shares fell after comparable store sales at the largest US warehouse retailer fell on lower gasoline prices.
Costco reported comparable-store sales down 1.4% last month, down 2.5% in the U.S. and down 0.6% in Canada. In other international markets they increased by 4.5%.
The company said deflation in gas prices negatively impacted comparable sales by 4%. It added that the average global selling price has fallen 24% per gallon since June 2022.
Excluding the impact of changes in gasoline prices and exchange rates, Costco said comparable store sales were up 3%.
Total revenue was $22.86 billion, up 0.4% from a year ago but down from May’s 1.2% increase. E-commerce sales fell 0.7%. However, that was significantly less than the 7.6% slump in the previous month. The average amount spent per visit decreased by 5.4%.
Despite Friday’s losses, Costco’s shares remained in positive territory for the year, up more than 15% year-to-date.
YCharts.