Costco’s extended gas station hours are paying off, the warehouse retailer shared in its third-quarter earnings call.
“The combination of expanded gas station hours, new gas station openings and lower prices at the pump have led us to having two of our all-time highest gallon weeks in the U.S. during the last month,” Costco CEO Ron Vachris said, according to an AlphaSense transcript of the May 29th call.
Costco announced in a Feb. 18 Facebook post that it would be extending gas station hours at its member-only stations. It listed the extended hours as 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. Costco noted the hours could vary in California and Hawaii.
Costco said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that for the fiscal year ending Sept. 1, 2024, it operated 719 gas stations. Its gasoline business represented about 12% of total net sales in 2024, the company said.
Costco operates 905 warehouses, including 624 in the United States and Puerto Rico, it said in a Wednesday report on May sales.
Costco isn’t the only retailer convenience stores and gas stations need to keep an eye on—Walmart has also announced it is revamping its c-stores and fuel stations.
Costco delivered strong third-quarter earnings across the board, with both fresh and grocery categories also performing well.
Net sales for the Issaquah, Washington-based company rose 8% year over year to $61.96 billion. U.S. comparable sales increased 7.9%, excluding the impact of gasoline price fluctuations and foreign exchange.
“Despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, we continue to increase the overall value of our membership,” Vachris said.
Net income for the quarter reached $1.9 billion, up from $1.68 billion in Q3 2024. Ecommerce sales, which now represent 12% of total sales, grew 15.7% year over year, also excluding changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange.
Part of this story first appeared in CSP's sister publication Supermarket News. Read more here.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.