Costco Wholesale shares climbed higher on Friday, after the retail giant posted December sales figures that suggest solid spending during holiday period.
Costco’s sales for the five weeks ending on January 5 rose +7% from a year ago to $23.8 billion, well above the Street forecasts of +3.5% growth. The figure is also a marked acceleration over the 5.3% growth of November.
Comparable U.S. sales grew +3.6%, the sharpest increase since June.
Last month, Costco reported diluted earnings for the three months ended Nov. 20, at $3.10 per share, 2 cents short of the Street consensus forecast. Group sales were up +8.1% to $54.44 billion in that quarter.