(Reuters) – Membership-only retail chain Costco Wholesale Corp beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly revenue on Thursday, as consumers returning to its stores splurged on high-margin items such as jewelry and home furnishing goods.
Sales at Costco, which relies heavily on customers seeking a treasure-hunt shopping experience at its cavernous warehouses, have benefited from consumers returning to its stores following the rollout of vaccines and easing of COVID-19 curbs.
There has been strong demand for high-margin items in recent months as social events and travel has resumed, boosting sales at Costco which does not boast of the e-commerce strength that big-box retailers like Walmart Inc and Target Corp have.
Total revenue rose to $51.90 billion in the second quarter, from $44.77 billion a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $51.47 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Net income rose to $1.30 billion, or $2.92 per share, in the quarter ended Feb. 13, from $951 million, or $2.14 per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Mehr Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Amy Caren Daniel)
