Solid revenue growth in June sparked a rally in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) after a tough month that had seem them badly hit by Amazon’s acquisition of WholeFoods.
Since Amazon made its move for WholeFoods, Costco shares have shed more than US$20 on concerns that a price war will break out when the deal goes through as rivals such as Walmart and Kroger move to protect their market positions.
Last month, to 2 July, wholesaler Costco posted sales 7% higher at US$12.2bn, while for the year so far revenues are 6% higher at US$104.3bn.
On a like-for-like basis sales this year rose by 3.4%, with the international and Canadian operations both outshining the US.
Costco currently operates 734 warehouses, of which 511 are in the US and Puerto Rico, with 95 in Canada and 28 in the United Kingdom.
Shares rose US$1.22 to US$159.20 valuing the group at US$69.7bn.