Costco announced positive earnings report, bumps employee wages to $15 an hour

On March 7, 2019 Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its second quarter earnings, beating analyst estimates by a wide margin. The retailer announced net sales for the quarter increased 7.3 percent, to $34.63 billion from $32.28 billion last year, while net sales for the first 24 weeks increased 8.7 percent, to $68.94 billion from $63.40 billion last year. The company’s earnings rose 27 percent year-over-year to $889 million, or $2.01 per share, from $701 million, or $1.59 per share, according to the company report. Same-store sales, excluding fuel and foreign exchange moves, also grew a solid 6.7 percent and e-commerce sales jumped 25.5 percent.

Following the positive sales results, Costco announced it will raise its starting wage for employees in the US and Canada from $14 to $15 an hour.