Costco Prepares For Q3 Earnings Release: Comparable Sales And Market Challenges Draw Investor Attention

Costco Wholesale Corporation COST is set to announce its third-quarter results Thursday after market close, here's what to expect.

The Street’s consensus is an expectation of $3.30 earnings per share, marking a match with the previous quarter’s earnings. On the revenue front, analysts anticipate a tally of $54.64 billion.

In comparison to the last quarter, where the company reported revenues of $55.266 billion falling below the expected $55.54 billion, the Q3 forecast represents a subtle dip.

Despite beating a Street estimate for earnings last quarter, investors dragged the stock down 2.15% on the softer revenue.

Morgan Stanley recently raised its price target on the stock, check out more ratings here.

Shares of the Issaquah, Washington-headquartered retail giant are currently trading marginally above levels seen a year ago, though the stock has been trading in a range over the past year.

Key to watch in Costco’s upcoming report will be its comparable sales performance. Unfavorable exchange rates and fluctuating fuel prices add to the challenges impacting the metric, and a deceleration would reflect challenges in consumer spending power.

Price action: Shares of Costco are trading 0.61% lower to $481.91, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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