Costco sales upward bound in May

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco’s first monthly sales report since it beat Wall Street expectations with its Q3 results shows it continuing to right its ship after a difficult Q1 and Q2.

The company reported a 7% increase in net sales for the month, bringing in $9.86 billion, compared with 9.23 billion during the year-ago period. Comparable-store sales also rose for the month by 5.2% in the United States, with comps in Canada declining 2.2% and other international comps increasing 4.9%. Overall, Costco’s comps for May were 4.1%. Canadian comps saw the impact of changes in gas prices and foreign exchange, as they rose 3% when those factors were excluded.

In the 39 weeks ended May 28, Costco has seen net sales of $92.11 billion, an increase of 6% over the $87.18 billion in sales it reported for the same period last year. In the United States, comps for the year-to-date period are up 3.6%, with a 4.2% increase in Canadian comps and a 0.7% increase in other international comparable sales.

The company ended its May with 732 warehouses.