The following is a summary of the Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript:

Financial Performance:

Costco’s reported net income for Q1 2024 increased to $1.589 billion or $3.58 per share.
The company saw a 6.1% increase in net sales to $56.72 billion from last year’s $53.44 billion.
There was a tax benefit of $44 million or $0.10 a share included in this year’s results related to stock-based compensation.
Membership fee income for the quarter increased by 8.2% to $1.082 billion.
Renewal rates for the memberships have shown a positive trend with U.S. and Canada renewal rate standing at 92.8% and the worldwide rate at 90.5%.
For this quarter, the net income was up by 16.5% year-over-year.

Business Progress:

For FY ’24, plans are underway to open 33 new locations, indicating a significant increase from the 23 opened in FY ’23.
E-commerce sales presented an area of growth, with a 6.1% increase kick-starting an upward trend.
Membership growth is steady, ending Q1 with 72.0 million paid household members, a 7.6% increase from the previous year.
In their mobile and digital strategies, the company saw nearly 2.75 million app downloads during this quarter.
A special cash dividend of $15 per share was recently declared, indicating an approximate total payout of $6.7 billion.
The company plans on significant investment in warehouse expansion and capital expenditure in fiscal ’24.
They shared success reports from various stores indicating substantial profits. Additionally, they are still able to maintain margins despite rising wages.
However, the main focus is on the re-platforming of their e-commerce operations, halfway through a two-year roadmap.
Consumers should expect an increasingly personalized mobile site, as well as an increase in self-checkout counters and additional strategies to drive sales growth.
International markets (Mexico, Australia, and the U.K.) offer considerable growth opportunities, and there’s been substantial growth from the Kirkland Signature product line.