ISSAQUAH, Wash. – Warehouse retail chain Costco Wholesale said its fourth-quarter profits rose slightly from a year ago, its profits weighed by wage premiums paid to employees during the pandemic.
In a quarter during which Costco saw a surge of online shopping, the company based in Issaquah, Washington, said it earned $951 million, or $2.14 per share.
That's compared to a profit of $931 million, or $2.10 per share, in the same period a year earlier. But the results were below analysts’ expectations, pushing the Costco's stock down about 2% in after-hours trading.
The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.42 per share in the latest quarter.