Costco Wholesale Corporation on Wednesday reported net sales of $29.24 billion for the retail month of June, the five weeks ended July 5, an increase of 10.6 percent from $26.44 billion a year earlier, according to the warehouse retailer’s monthly sales release issued from its Issaquah, Washington headquarters.

The company said comparable sales, a measure that strips out newly opened warehouses, rose 8.8 percent across the business in June. Canada posted growth of 3.7 percent and other international markets rose 4.7 percent. Digitally enabled comparable sales, which cover online orders and delivery, jumped 20.9 percent, extending a long run of double-digit gains in Costco’s e-commerce channel.

A large share of June’s headline growth came from the gas pump rather than the sales floor. Costco said higher fuel prices added roughly 2.5 percentage points to overall comparable sales, with average worldwide selling prices per gallon up about 22 percent from a year earlier. Fuel prices have stayed elevated through the spring and early summer. Stripping out both gasoline and swings in foreign exchange rates, comparable sales still rose, but at a more modest pace, showing that steady member traffic and everyday grocery demand carried the underlying business even without the fuel boost.

For the first 44 weeks of its fiscal year, Costco reported net sales of $250.43 billion, up 10.1 percent from the same stretch last year. Comparable sales for that period rose 8.3 percent, with digitally enabled sales again climbing more than 20 percent. The figures point to a retailer still pulling shoppers through its doors at a time when many chains are fighting to hold traffic against cautious household budgets.

Costco’s model continues to lean on membership fees and repeat visits rather than one-time promotions. The company operates 933 warehouses worldwide as of the June report, including 641 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 115 in Canada and 43 in Mexico, along with locations across Europe, Asia and Oceania. That store base, paired with a renewal-driven membership base, gives the chain a recurring revenue stream that smooths over month-to-month swings in discretionary spending.

Separately, Costco’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.47 per share on Tuesday. The dividend is payable Aug. 7 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 24. The payout signals continued confidence in the company’s cash generation and hands a direct return to shareholders on top of the sales momentum.

Despite the double-digit sales gain, the market reaction was muted, with shares trading in a narrow range after the release rather than rallying on the top-line number. Part of the caution reflects how much of June’s growth was tied to fuel prices, a factor outside the company’s control that can reverse quickly if pump prices fall. Investors tend to focus on the fuel- and currency-adjusted figure as a cleaner read on how the core warehouse business is performing, and that adjusted number, while solid, was less dramatic than the 10.6 percent headline.

For everyday shoppers, the report underscores a pattern that has held for much of the past year. Households have kept filling carts at warehouse clubs, leaning on bulk buying and Costco’s private-label Kirkland Signature brand to stretch grocery budgets as prices for many staples remain higher than they were before the recent stretch of inflation. Fresh foods and core grocery categories have continued to grow, while the company’s ancillary businesses, including gas stations, pharmacies and optical departments, add reasons for members to keep returning.

The June update follows a fiscal second and third quarter in which Costco beat Wall Street expectations on both profit and comparable sales, helped by higher membership fee revenue and steady demand for both essentials and higher-margin discretionary goods. The company has also been pursuing refunds tied to tariffs it paid on imported merchandise, a cost pressure that has weighed on retailers importing goods from abroad.

The next test comes with Costco’s fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results later this summer, when the company will report full profit figures alongside sales. For now, the June numbers show a retailer holding its ground: growing faster than much of the sector, keeping members loyal and returning cash to shareholders, even as a chunk of the reported growth rests on fuel prices that could ease in the months ahead.

JBizNews Desk | Issaquah, Washington

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