06:34 AM EDT, 05/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Costco Wholesale ( COST ) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue above market estimates, but the warehouse chain's comparable sales fell short of expectations.

Net income advanced to $4.28 per share for the quarter ended May 11 from $3.78 a year earlier, the company said late Thursday, topping the FactSet-polled consensus of $4.25. Sales rose 8% to $61.96 billion, while overall revenue increased to $63.21 billion from $58.52 billion in the prior-year quarter. The Street's forecast was for revenue of $63.13 billion.

Comparable sales rose 5.7% at the company level, but trailed the 6% growth modeled by analysts. The metric increased 6.6% in the US, 2.9% in Canada and 3.2% internationally. E-commerce comparable sales jumped about 15%.

"In terms of (third-quarter comparable) sales metrics, foreign currencies relative to the US dollar negatively impacted sales by approximately 1.2%, while gas price deflation negatively impacted sales by approximately 1.1%," Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. Costco's shares edged down 0.4% in Friday's most recent premarket activity.

Millerchip told analysts that the warehouse chain is working closely with its suppliers to try to offset the impact of tariffs on costs, "including moving production and sourcing to other countries where it makes sense to do so." The company remains committed to providing items at the "lowest possible prices" and only raising them as a "last resort," Millerchip said on the call.

Earlier in May, retail giant Walmart (WMT) warned that it would have to hike prices due to tariffs.

The US Court of International Trade on Wednesday ruled that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority by imposing duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. A federal appeals court on Thursday granted the Trump administration's request to temporarily pause that ruling.

"The evolving landscape with tariffs is adding complexity and challenges for how we operate our business, but we believe our expertise in buying and limited (stock keeping unit) count model give us greater agility to navigate the environment," according to Millerchip. The global supply chain remains "relatively stable," while the company has not seen any material impact from tariffs on shipping, the CFO added.

Costco's traffic, or shopping frequency, increased 5.2% globally and 5.5% in the US, Millerchip said. The average transaction nudged 0.4% higher worldwide and 1.1% in the US, including headwinds from gas deflation and foreign exchange, he added. The company ended the quarter with 79.6 million paid household members and 142.8 million cardholders, both reflecting annual gains of more than 6%, Millerchip said.

The company continues to benefit from its strong merchandising and treasure hunt experience, as well as its value proposition for members, Truist Securities said in a client note. Earnings before interest and taxes margins continue to move up as the group's pricing strategy enables them to generate more customer value and "slowly bring more profit to the bottom line," according to the brokerage.

"As we look ahead to the remainder of the fiscal year, while the impacts of tariffs and the outlook for the economy in general remain unknown, we are confident in the ability of our operators and merchants to rise to the challenges," Chief Executive Roland Vachris said on the call.