Costco sales up 3% to $9 billion for April

ISSAQUAH, Wash. - Costco on Wednesday reported net sales of $9 billion for the month of April, the four weeks ended May 1, 2016, an increase of 3% as compared to the similar period last year.

 

"For the U.S., the regions with the strongest results were the Midwest, Texas and Northwest," stated Jeff Elliott, AVP financial planning and investor relations, Costco. "Conversely, the weakest comp sale results in the U.S. were in California. The traffic at the California buildings was slightly negative for the month. Excluding the California buildings, U.S. traffic was up approximately 3%," he said. "Our California locations represent a little more than one-third of our total U.S. sales, and we believe the high penetration of gas stations at those buildings generated stronger traffic last year, resulting in tougher comparisons this year for the California business." 

 

Excluding the negative impacts from gasoline prices deflation and foreign exchange, Costco's U.S. store base realized a 2% gain in same-stores sales in that four-week period and Costco's Canadian operation realized a 7% gain.