Costco's Strong Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations Despite Soft Sales

Costco reported quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations, with net income of $2.2 billion and earnings per share of $4.86. While comparable sales rose 1.1% year over year, they only increased by 0.2% in the U.S. E-commerce sales declined by 0.8%. The company's success in recent years can be attributed to factors such as increased home cooking and inflation, but sales trends have slowed, particularly in the U.S. market. Costco's stock has outperformed the S&P 500, rising by 21% this year.