Costco reported fiscal second quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ expectations, partly due to higher wages amid COVID-19 impact.
For the fiscal 2021 second quarter ended Feb. 4, the retail company’s earnings came in at it $2.14 a share, which included a pretax 41 cents a share, in costs mostly related to COVID-19 “premium” wages, it said. Earnings were $2.10 a share in the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected earnings of $2.45 per share for the latest quarter.
Revenue increased +14.7% year-over-year to $43.89 billion, compared to analysts’ forecast of $43.75 billion.
Total comparable-sales climbed +13%, and e-commerce sales rose almost +76%.