Costco signals firmer US demand, despite high gasoline prices

Published: 2026-05-08 01:17:31 ET COST

Costco's April sales figures demonstrate highly resilient and accelerating household consumption in the United States, even after adjusting for calendar shifts, foreign exchange, and gasoline price volatility.

Kevin Smith

Published on 05/08/2026 at 01:17 am EDT

As investors seek to gauge the true resilience of the American consumer, Costco reported net sales of $23.92bn for April, a 13% y-o-y increase for the 4-week period ended May 3. For the first 35 weeks of its fiscal year, sales reached $197.18bn, up 9.5%.The headline figure requires adjustment, however, as April benefited from an additional shopping day due to the timing of Easter, which provided an estimated 1.5% to 2% tailwind to total and comparable sales. Even after this correction, the group's comparable sales rose by 11.6% in April, and by 7.8% excluding the impact of gasoline and currency fluctuations. In the United States, the core of the business model, comparable growth stood at 8% on the same adjusted basis, while digital sales surged by a further 18.4%.In February, net sales rose 9.5%, with adjusted comparable sales up 7% group-wide and 6% in the US. In March, net sales increased by 11.3%, despite one fewer shopping day, while adjusted comparable sales rose by 6.2% overall and 6.2% in the US. The February-March-April sequence (+6%, +6.2%, then +8%) therefore suggests consistently sustained demand, with US momentum actually accelerating in April.These figures do not necessarily imply that the American consumer is uniformly robust, as Costco also benefits from its price positioning, membership model, and a shift towards bulk purchasing as households seek to optimize their budgets. However, they suggest that demand for essential goods and everyday staples shows no particular sign of weakening, despite the surge in gasoline prices.