Costco Wholesale Corp. stock fell late Thursday after the retailer reported quarterly earnings below Wall Street expectations, due in part to higher wages amid the pandemic.
Costco COST,
The earnings compared with net income of $931 million, or $2.10 a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Sales rose 14.7% to $43.89 billion, from $38.26 billion a year ago.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected the retailer to earn a GAAP profit of $2.45 a share on sales of $43.75 billion.
Total comparable-sales rose 13%, the company said, with e-commerce sales rising nearly 76%.
February sales, which the company reported alongside quarterly earnings, rose 15% to $14.05 billion.
Shares of Costco have lost around 0.8% in the past 12 months, contrasting with gains around 20% for the S&P 500 index SPX,
