Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Operating Results
Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its operating results for the first quarter (12 weeks) of fiscal 2021, ended Nov. 22, 2020.
Net sales for the first quarter increased 16.9 percent, to $42.35 billion from $36.24 billion last year.
Comparable sales for the first quarter fiscal 2021 were as follows:
| 12 Weeks | 12 Weeks | ||||
| Adjusted* | |||||
| U.S. | 14.6 percent | 17.0 percent | |||
| Canada | 16.2 percent | 16.8 percent | |||
| Other International | 18.7 percent | 17.7 percent | |||
| Total Company | 15.4 percent | 17.1 percent | |||
| E-commerce | 86.4 percent | 86.2 percent | |||
| *Excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange. | |||||
Net income for the quarter was $1,166 million, or $2.62 per diluted share, compared to $844 million, or $1.90 per diluted share, last year. This year’s first quarter included tax benefits of $145 million or $0.33 per diluted share, $0.16 of which was due to the deductibility of the $10 per share special cash dividend, to the extent received by the Company’s 401(k) plan participants; and $0.17 cents related to stock-based compensation. Last year’s first quarter included a $77 million or $0.17 per diluted share tax benefit related to stock-based compensation. This year’s results reflect an expense for Covid-19 premium wages of $212 million pre-tax or $0.35 per diluted share.
Costco currently operates 803 warehouses, including 558 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 102 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 29 in the United Kingdom, 27 in Japan, 16 in Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 12 in Australia, three in Spain and one each in Iceland, France and China. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.
A conference call to discuss these results is scheduled for 2 p.m. (PT) today, Dec. 10, 2020 and is available via a webcast on www.costco.com (click on Investor Relations and “Play Webcast”).
For more information, visit the company’s official press release.