Costco profit beats estimates, but sales miss

Costco Wholesale Corp. on Thursday reported first-quarter profit that beat Wall Street expectations but sales that fell short of analysts' forecasts.

The company reported first-quarter net income of $1.32 billion, or $2.98 a share, compared with $1.17 billion, or $2.62 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased to $49.42 billion from $42.35 billion in the year-ago quarter. Comparable-store sales rose 15% overall in the quarter, lower than analysts' expectation of 15.1%.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $1.15 billion, or $2.62 a share, on revenue of $49.65 billion.

Costco shares $(COST)$ bounced between slight losses and gains in after-hours trading immediately after the report was released.

They had declined about 1% in the regular session to close at $524.33. The company's stock has risen about 40% so far this year, compared with the S&P 500 index's 25% increase in the same period.