Costco Stock (NASDAQ:COST)
After reporting sales for December that were greater than anticipated, Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) was the top gainer on the S&P 500 during trading on Friday. As a result, Costco stock surged.
The retail giant in Washington achieved revenues of $23.8 billion for the month, representing a 7% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. The increase in US comparable sales for December, excluding the effects of gas and foreign currency, was 6.4%, which was well above the 5% consensus projection.
During the day’s trading, Costco stock soared to a gain of more than 7%, reaching a high of close to $484 in the morning session.
After a disappointing report in November, which led to a significant drop in the stock price only one month ago, experts were pleased to see a better report than predicted.
“The comparisons for Christmas 2022 indicated a back-loaded time, as shown by COST’s data, and these comparisons showed a back-loaded period. Comparable sales for December at COST were favorable, not just for COST but also for the near-term outlook for retail in general, “Michael Baker, a DA Davidson analyst, provided the advice.
In addition, he said that there had been a discernible upward trend in the traffic patterns, which lent credence to his optimistic assessment of the outcomes.
Edward Kelly, an analyst at Wells Fargo, agreed with those views and added that an additional selling day before the Christmas vacation helped outcomes. Despite this, a Hold rating was maintained for him due to the lack of clarity over his path leading up to 2023.
Kelly warned, “We continue to have concerns about slowing sales momentum to come with disinflation and the lapping of extremely harsh general category comps.”
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Author Shariq Khan 
