You’re About To Pay More For A Costco Membership

That was up 5.7 percent from the same quarter a year ago. The stock stands almost -0.41% off versus the 52-week high and 29.53% away from the 52-week low. Going forward, we expect the hike in membership fees to add substantially to the company’s top and bottom line.

For the four-week reporting month of February, ended February 26, 2017, the Company reported net sales of $8.92 billion, an increase of eight percent from $8.28 billion during the similar four-week period past year.

This week, the chain announced that as of June 1 it was raising “Gold Star” membership fees in Canada and the U.S.by $5 to $60. Executive memberships will now cost $120, up from $110. The increase in fees will affect COST’s 35 million members, half of whom are executive subscribers, however, their 2% reward would now be capped at $1,000, compared to $750 earlier.

Second-quarter net income totaled $515 million, or $1.17 per share, the company reported. This year Company’s Earnings per Share (EPS) growth is -114.60% and next year’s EPS growth is -1.20%.

The results – coming from a company that’s widely seen as a retail bright spot – renew concerns about the industry. Alpha Windward LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period.

Costco reported revenue of $29.8 billion in the second quarter, which ended February 12. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Average sales estimate is measured after the consensus analysis of 8 Analysts. Costco is the second-largest retailer in the country by revenue behind Walmart. That’s hurt Costco as well as supermarkets Kroger and Whole Foods.

Costco members in North America are set to pay more this spring. Gross margin contracted by 24 bps y/y to 11.0% (vs. consensus of 11.4% and its estimate of 11.3%) primarily due to lower gas margins, higher gas mix, and price investments. But it wasn’t enough to offset lower prices for many of its products.

Costco also offers items other big-box stores do not, including gasoline, and even vehicle rental discounts and vacation packages through Costco Travel, which is available to all members, Shelton said.

When it comes to e-commerce, “we feel fine with where we are”, Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said on a conference call Thursday.

At time of writing this, the stock dropped 4.16 percent.