Benzinga Breakdown: Costco's Q3 Earnings

• EPS $1.24 vs $1.22 Est, up 6 percent YoY
• Sales $26.15B vs $27.07B Est, up 2 percent Yoy
• Same-store sales flat in the US, up 1 percent in Canada and down 2 percent in the rest of the world
• Excluding gasoline, US same-store sales were up 3 percent
• No guidance was published
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What This Means for the Company

Some market watchers were looking for a strong report from Costco Wholesale Corporation COST as evidence that discount retailers are able to buck the recent trend of slumping retail results. This quarter’s earnings beat ends a two-quarter streak of missed estimates for both earnings and revenue.

What This Means for the Investor

Costco shares were at $149 premarket, up 3 percent. Yesterday, prior to its earnings release, the company was mentioned favorably by Nomura analysts, who maintained a Buy rating and a price target of $185.