The market has its jitters, but Motley Fool Stock Advisor selection Costco (NASDAQ:COST) and its customers apparently do not.
For the month, the wholesale retailer saw its same-store sales increase 7%, with 6% of the increase coming from U.S. stores and 10% coming from international locations.
The 7% gain surpassed the 1.5% gain posted by BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) and the 4.9% gain reported by Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) unit Sam's Club. These results pretty much sum up how the industry has played out for years. Last month, Sam's did eke out a slightly larger gain than Costco, but most months Costco drives the highest sales through its stores.
For Costco, the strongest regions domestically were the Midwest, Texas, the Northeast, and its home in the Northwest. Internationally, Korea and Taiwan were the country's strongest markets on a local-currency basis. Overall same-store sales received a 1.5% boost from currency gains, because the Canadian dollar and British pound strengthened considerably compared to last year.
Other than Target (NYSE:TGT) at 6% and TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) at 5%, there aren't many big retailers that had same-store sales in the same ballpark as Costco. It's not conclusive, but while there are signs that consumers are pulling back spending a bit, it's becoming more clear that some companies resonate a bit more with consumers than others -- even when it's time for a little belt-tightening.
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Nathan Parmelee owns shares of Costco, but has no financial interest in any of the other companies mentioned. The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy. Wal-Mart is a Motley Fool Inside Value selection.
