Q4 2024 Costco Wholesale Corp Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) reported a 9% year-over-year increase in net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.
- The company opened 30 new warehouses in fiscal 2024, including its first-ever building in Maine and its 600th US building in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
- E-commerce comparable sales were up 18.9%, with significant growth in appliances, furniture, and big and bulky items.
- Membership fee income increased by 7.4% year-over-year, excluding the impacts from the extra week last year and foreign exchange.
- Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) saw a 6.4% increase in worldwide traffic or shopping frequency, indicating strong customer engagement.
- The average transaction or ticket was negative 0.9% worldwide, reflecting headwinds from gas deflation and foreign exchange.
- Higher wages in the US and Canada were a headwind for the quarter, impacting the SG&A rate.
- Interest income for the quarter was $138 million, down from $201 million last year, primarily due to a special dividend paid in January 2024.
- Foreign exchange and other factors resulted in an $18 million loss this year compared to a $37 million gain last year.
- The US and Canada renewal rate slightly decreased to 92.9%, impacted by lower renewal rates from a digital promotion cohort.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. My name is Krista, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Costco Wholesale Corporation fourth-quarter 2024 conference call. (Operator Instructions)
Thank you. I will now turn the conference over to Gary Millerchip, Chief Financial Officer. Gary, the floor is yours.
Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining Cosco's fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call. I'd like to start by reminding you that these discussions will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results and/or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those outlined in today's call as well as other risks identified from time to time in the company's public
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