Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports March Sales Results

ISSAQUAH, Wash., April 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:COST) today reported net sales of $12.92 billion for the month of March, the five weeks ended April 8, 2018, an increase of 10.9 percent from $11.65 billion last year. For the thirty-one weeks ended April 8, 2018, the Company reported net sales of $81.43 billion, an increase of 11.8 percent from $72.82 billion last year.

This year’s five-week March retail-month had one fewer shopping day versus last year, due to the calendar shift of Easter. This negatively impacted total and comparable March sales by approximately one to one and one-half percent.

Comparable sales were as follows:

		5 Weeks			31 Weeks
		Retail Month			Fiscal Year
	U.S.	8.3%			8.5%
	Canada	7.1%			9.8%
	Other International	12.3%			12.9%
	Total Company	8.6%			9.3%
	E-commerce	33.2%			33.7%

Comparable sales excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange were as follows:

		5 Weeks			31 Weeks
		Retail Month			Fiscal Year
	U.S.	6.7%			7.0%
	Canada	2.0%			3.5%
	Other International	5.4%			7.3%
	Total Company	5.8%			6.5%
	E-commerce	32.1%			32.4%

Additional discussion of these results is available in a pre-recorded telephone message. It can be accessed by dialing 1-855-859-2056 (conference ID 73993186). This message will be available through 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

Costco currently operates 749 warehouses, including 519 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 98 in Canada, 38 in Mexico, 28 in the United Kingdom, 26 in Japan, 14 in Korea, 13 in Taiwan, nine in Australia, two in Spain, one in Iceland and one in France. Costco also operates electronic commerce web sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea and Taiwan.

Certain statements contained in this document and the pre-recorded telephone message constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future.  Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, breaches of security or privacy of member or business information, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, capital spending, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (generally including health care costs), energy and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions (including tariffs), and other risks identified from time to time in the Company’s public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company does not undertake to update these statements, except as required by law.

CONTACTS:		Costco Wholesale Corporation
		Richard Galanti, 425/313-8203
		Bob Nelson, 425/313-8255
		Josh Dahmen, 425/313-8254