Costco Reports its Q4 2015 and Fiscal Year 2015 Financial Results

Costco has announced its financial results for its fourth quarter 2015 and fiscal year 2015, showing better-than-estimated earnings and increased membership sales.

"The market potential keeps improving," said CFO and SVP Richard Galanti. "In the U.S., we keep finding more opportunities here so that's good news."

The company has 686 membership warehouses around the world and boasts a loyal membership with a renewal rate of about 91% in the U.S. and Canada and about 87% worldwide as of 2014, according to a regulatory filing. The company said it plans to open up 12 additional warehouses (including one relocation) before the end of calendar-year 2015.

Net income for Q4 rose 10 percent to $767 million, or $1.73 a share, the company’s report said Tuesday, while analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters projected a profit of only $1.66 a share on revenue of $36.21 billion. Costco’s sales rose 1 percent to $35 billion, helped by a 2.2 percent gain in membership fees. 

Other highlights from the report include:

• Net income for FY2015 was $2.38 billion, or $5.37 per diluted share, compared to $2.06 billion, or $4.65 per diluted share in FY2014.
• Net sales for Q4 were $34.99 billion, an increase of one percent from $34.75 billion in fiscal 2014.
• Net sales for FY2015 were $113.67 billion, an increase of three percent from $110.21 billion last year.

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