Issaquah, Wash. — Lower gas prices took a toll on Costco’s December results, although CE helped fuel the warehouse club’s comps.
Net sales rose 5 percent last month to $12.1 billion and U.S. comps increased 8 percent excluding the negative impact of gas price declines.
The company cited CE as a key December driver of its hardlines business, which posted mid-single-digit comp gains.
In a research note, Janney Capital Markets retail analyst David Strasser said CE’s resurgence at Costco “continues to come from strength in the high-end TV cycle,” as well as from Apple products, which were re-introduced last summer following a conspicuous, multi-year absence.
