Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is scheduled to release its first-quarter Fiscal 2023 results on December 8, after the market closes. The American membership-only warehouse club offers groceries, appliances, toys, hardware, apparel, and other items.
The Street expects Costco to post diluted earnings of $3.12 per share in Q1, nearly 5% higher than the prior-year period figure of $2.97. Meanwhile, revenue is pegged at $58.4 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 16%.
Costco’s November Sales Up Y/Y, But Missed Consensus
For November, Costco reported net sales of $19.17 billion, up 5.7% from the last year. Similarly, comparable sales for the month jumped 6%, with e-commerce falling 10.1%. Further, Costco posted net sales of $53.44 billion for the quarter ending November 20, 2022. The figure is up 8.1% year-over-year. Comparable sales for the quarter grew by 9.3%.
The quarterly figure is below analysts’ expectations of $58.4 billion. Lower gasoline prices and persistently high inflation are likely to have impacted sales in Q1.
Is COST a Buy Stock?
Wall Street is highly optimistic about Costco stock. It has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 14 Buys and four Holds. The average stock price target of $551.65 implies 14.7% upside potential. COST stock is down 14.5% so far this year.
Website Traffic Paints a Positive Picture
TipRanks’ Website Traffic tool indicates a healthy picture for the quarter. As per our data, total estimated global visits to costco.com increased by 9.48% year-over-year in Q1.
