Costco Shares Decline 2% Despite Beating Q3 Expectations

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) saw its shares drop more than 2% intra-day today after the company reported its third-quarter results. The retailer posted fiscal Q3 earnings of $3.78 per diluted share on revenue of $58.52 billion, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 per share and $58.13 billion in revenue.

Comparable sales, including gas and currency changes, rose by 6.6%, surpassing the analyst forecast of 5.9%. Excluding gas and currency changes, same-store sales increased by 6.5%.

Sales in the U.S. and Canada grew by 6.2% and 7.7%, respectively, with international sales also up by 7.7% during the quarter. Membership fees increased to $1.12 billion, up from $1.04 billion in the same period last year.