Costco Stock Rises On Q1 Earnings Beat: Retail’s Upbeat

Shares of Costco Wholesale were up nearly 1% on Friday morning after the retail giant reported better-than-expected first-quarter (Q1) 2025 earnings on the back of increased membership fees and higher e-commerce sales, lifting retail sentiment.

The retailer topped Wall Street expectations reporting $4.04 in earnings per share, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79. Strong revenue growth, e-commerce sales, and membership fees contributed to the earnings. Costco's revenues stood at $62.15 billion, below the expected $66.52 billion quoted by analysts.

Costco said shoppers bought items such as furniture, sporting goods, and hardware in bulk, which led to its e-commerce sales rising year over year by 13%. Its partnerships with Uber and Instacart also contributed to the rise, thanks to faster and cheaper deliveries.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits rose to ‘extremely bullish.’ Message volumes were in the ‘extremely high’ zone.

COST sentiment meter and message volumes

In an earnings call later, Costco CEO Gary Millerchip reportedly said the company is prepared to adapt should tariffs be imposed by Donald Trump.

According to him, tariffs could make some products more expensive or less valuable, and in such a scenario, the retailer is likely to consider different products.

Analyst firm D.A. Davidson maintained a neutral rating on the stock. "COST’s offering is clearly resonating with consumers, but we maintain our Neutral rating with the stock trading at 54x consensus estimates for FY2025," the firm said, according to a report.

Costco stock is up 53.3% year-to-date.

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