Costco jumps as December sales gain points to holiday strength

Costco Wholesale surged the most since March 2020 after improving December sales soothed investor concerns about a slowdown in November.

U.S. comparable sales, excluding the impact of changes in gasoline prices, climbed 6.4% last month, topping the 5% average of analyst estimates compiled by Consensus Metrix.

In November, the closely followed sales gauge only rose 4.6%, the smallest gain since April 2020.

“This is the first major retailer to provide an indication of December results, and the rebound versus November to better-than-expected comps endorses the theory that holiday sales came late in 2022 after a slow start in November,” Michael Baker, an analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co., said in a note to clients.

Costco is benefiting from resilient demand as customers spend heavily on food while also snapping up items such as sporting goods and tires.

Still, doubts remain about the durability of the sales gains, and Stifel Financial analyst Mark Astrachan cautioned that Costco’s upbeat month offers only a limited view of the state of U.S. consumers amid lower purchases of discretionary products.

Costco shares climbed 7.3% at 10:37 a.m. in New York, the biggest intraday gain since June 2. Costco tumbled 20% last year, the worst decline since 2008.