Costco Wholesale Shines With Strong August Sales

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) has been gaining momentum recently, with comparable sales accelerating after a lull in 2016. In August -- the final month of Costco's 2017 fiscal year -- the company continued its comeback, delivering another month of stellar sales growth.

In August, Costco's sales surged 10% year over year, driven by a 7.3% comp sales increase. Exchange rate changes and gasoline prices both contributed to Costco's sales growth last month. Holding those factors constant, Costco's adjusted comp sales increased 5.9%.

These comp sales results represent a big improvement relative to the trend prevailing in the first half of Costco's 2017 fiscal year. For the full fiscal year, Costco's adjusted comp sales rose 3.8%, including a modest 3.6% increase in the key U.S. market. (In the first half of fiscal 2017, company-wide comp sales rose just 2% year over year.)

Source: Fool.com