Costco Posts Strong March Sales, Analysts Highlight Uptick In Purchases Ahead Of Tariffs

Costco Wholesale Corp COST reported upbeat March sales on Wednesday. Here are some key analyst takeaways.

• Goldman Sachs analyst Kate McShane maintained a Buy rating, while raising the price target from $1,102 to $1,118.
• JPMorgan analyst Christopher Horvers reiterated an Overweight rating and price target of $1,070.
• Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman reaffirmed an Outperform rating and price target of $1,100.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Goldman Sachs: Costco reported March same-store sales, excluding gas and forex impact, of 9.1%. It significantly beat consensus of 7.4% and accelerated from February's 8.3%.

U.S. comparable sales came in at 8.7%, above consensus of 7.7% and accelerating from 8.6% in February, McShane noted.

"Worldwide traffic accelerated to +6.1% in March (vs. +5.0% in February, +7.1% in January, and +5.5% in December), while overall global ticket (ex-gas/FX) increased an estimated +2.9% (vs. +3.2% in February, +2.7% in January, and +4.3% in December)," the analyst wrote. She raised the earnings estimate for the fiscal third quarter from $4.25 per share to $4.29 per share.

JPMorgan: While U.S. traffic grew 6.1%, Canada and Other International core comps were strong at 10.6% and +9.9%, respectively, "indicating no pullback in international segments as a result of US boycotts," Horvers said. "E-commerce sales were +17.5% ex-FX," he added.

There was an uptick in momentum, particularly in electronics, and "likely related to tariff pricing fears," the analyst stated. For April, the US core comp could come in at 6.5%, Canada at 8%, and Other International at 7%, "resulting in total company core comp of +6.8%," he further wrote.

Telsey Advisory Group: Costco reported "impressive" March same-store sales, Feldman said. "Costco continues to execute well in this uncertain operating environment," he added.

The company is poised to continue generating strong earnings growth, "driven by a MSD comp, membership fee income growth of HSD, effective management of merchandising and costs, and leverage of customer data," the analyst wrote. He projected April headline comp of 4.5%, versus 5.6% last year.

Price Action: Costco shares declined by 0.91% to $956.4 at the time of publication on Thursday.

Read More:

• Ford, GM To Witness ‘Higher Demand’ As American Carmakers Set To ‘Reap The Fruit Of Protectionism,’ Says Expert: Here’s A List Of Potential Gainers And Losers From Trump Tariffs

Image: Shutterstock