Costco June Comps Up 5.3%; To Increase Annual Membership Fees

(RTTNews) - Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) reported that its total comparable sales for the retail month of June, the five weeks ended July 7, 2024, increased 5.3% with US comparable sales up 5.6% and Canada comparable sales up 5.2%. Net sales were $24.48 billion for the retail month of June, an increase of 7.4 percent from $22.78 billion last year.

The company also announced that, effective September 1, 2024, it will increase annual membership fees by $5 for U.S. and Canada Gold Star (individual), Business, and Business add-on members. With the increase, all U.S. and Canada Gold Star, Business and Business add-on members will pay an annual fee of $65.

Also effective September 1, annual fees for Executive Memberships in the U.S. and Canada will increase from $120 to $130 (Primary membership of $65, plus the Executive upgrade of $65), and the maximum annual 2% Reward associated with the Executive Membership will increase from $1,000 to $1,250.

The fee increases will impact around 52 million memberships, a little over half of which are Executive.

The company also announced that it has declared a quarterly cash dividend on Costco common stock of $1.16 per share. The quarterly dividend is payable August 9, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 26, 2024.