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Investing.com -- Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) stock rose 1.4% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the retail giant reported better-than-expected September sales figures.
The warehouse club operator posted net sales of $26.58 billion for the retail month of September, representing an 8.0% increase from $24.62 billion in the same period last year. Total comparable sales grew 5.7%, surpassing analyst expectations of 4.6%.
U.S. comparable sales excluding the impacts from gasoline prices and foreign exchange rose 5.0%, outperforming the estimated 4.2%. The company saw even stronger performance in its international segments, with Canada reporting a 9.3% increase and other international markets growing by 7.5% on the same adjusted basis.
Costco’s digitally-enabled sales continued to show robust growth, jumping 26.1% for the month. The company noted that it has changed its e-commerce comparable sales metric to "digitally-enabled" comparable sales, which now includes all sales delivered to members that are initiated through a digital device.
The retailer acknowledged that last year’s comparable period benefited from approximately 2% increased sales in the U.S. and 1.5% worldwide due to abnormal consumer activity associated with Hurricane Helene and port strikes.
Costco’s strong September performance comes as retailers prepare for the upcoming holiday shopping season, traditionally a crucial period for the sector.
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