Why Costco Shares Pushed Higher Friday
Investors initially weren't happy with fiscal 2023 first-quarter results from Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST). The big-box retailer reported earnings for the period ended Nov. 20 last night, and the initial reaction Friday morning was a 2.3% drop in shares.
But perhaps after evaluating the company's conference call with investors, the stock reversed course. As of 11:15 a.m. ET, Costco shares were trading higher by 1.5%.
The early slide came as the company reported net sales rising by 8.1% versus last year but said net income only grew 3% as expenses increased. Gross margin dropped year over year, but management noted a pretax charge of $93 million contributed to that drop. That charge was "primarily related to downsizing our charter shipping activities," according to Costco CFO Richard Galanti.
Source Fool.com