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Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports December Sales Results

January 3, 2018 9:00 PM

ISSAQUAH, Wash., Jan. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: COST) today reported net sales of $14.94 billion for the month of December, the five weeks ended December 31, 2017, an increase of 14.3 percent from $13.07 billion during the similar period last year.

For the first 17 weeks of fiscal year 2018 ended December 31, 2017, the Company reported net sales of $46.06 billion, an increase of 11.9 percent from $41.18 billion reported during the similar period last year.

This year’s December retail month had one additional shopping day as compared to last year due the calendar shift of New Year’s Day. The shift positively impacted total and comparable sales by approximately +2.5% for the five-week December retail month. The 17-week fiscal year was not impacted.

Comparable sales for the five-week retail month and for the 17-week year-to-date 2018 fiscal year, both ended December 31, 2017, were as follows:

5 Weeks 17 Weeks
Retail Month Fiscal Year
U.S.10.5% 8.5%
Canada11.9% 9.4%
Other International17.0% 11.9%
Total Company11.5% 9.1%
E-commerce33.3% 32.2%

Comparable sales for these periods excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange were as follows:

5 Weeks 17 Weeks
Retail Month Fiscal Year
U.S.9.1% 7.0%
Canada6.1% 2.9%
Other International9.6% 8.2%
Total Company8.8% 6.5%
E-commerce32.2% 30.9%

Additional discussion of these results is available in a pre-recorded telephone message. The recording can be accessed by dialing 1-855-859-2056 (conference ID 73993066). This message will be available today through 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday, January 10, 2018.

Costco currently operates 746 warehouses, including 518 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 98 in Canada, 37 in Mexico, 28 in the United Kingdom, 26 in Japan, 13 in Korea, 13 in Taiwan, nine in Australia, two in Spain, one in Iceland and one in France. Costco also operates electronic commerce web sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea and Taiwan.

Certain statements contained in this document and the pre-recorded telephone message constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, breaches of security or privacy of member or business information, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, capital spending, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (generally including health care costs), energy and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions, and other risks identified from time to time in the Company’s public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company does not undertake to update these statements, except as required by law.

CONTACTS:Costco Wholesale Corporation
Richard Galanti, 425/313-8203
Bob Nelson, 425/313-8255
David Sherwood, 425/313-8239

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