UPDATE: Costco shares rise on May sales, putting them on track for record close
Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. rose 2% Thursday, after the company reported May sales showing same-store sales up 11.7%. Costco said late Wednesday that net sales for May were up 14% to $11.02 billion from $9.66 billion in the same month a year ago. E-commerce sales were up 34.4%, the company said. In the U.s. the strongest regions were the Midwest, Texas and the Southeast, while internationally, Mexico, Japan and Taiwan were standouts. Stifel analysts said they are sticking with buy rating on the stock and $210 price target. “We believe current trends remain solid and we also think the results indicate Costco can coexist
with large hardline competitors like Walmart and have limited cannibalization from Amazon ,” they wrote in a note. “That said, Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods is a watchpoint longer-term given an immediate move to start lowering prices on select products as the company looks to build its grocery scale and take share from traditional grocery retailers.” Shares were last at $201.57, putting them on track to close at a fresh record. Shares have gained 8% in 2018 so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 3.7%.