‘Abnormal’ Shopping Lifted Costco Sales as Americans Prepped for Storms, Strikes

Shoppers didn’t pinch pennies at Costco (COST) last month.

The popular wholesaler said Wednesday that it saw sales jump 9% in September compared to the same month a year ago—with net sales for the month totaling $24.6 billion.

One reason for the bump in sales, according to Costco, was “abnormal consumer activity” due to port strikes and Hurricane Helene. Earlier this month, U.S. dockworkers agreed to return to work and suspend their strike until Jan. 15, after reaching a tentative agreement with port operators on wages. Helene hit the Florida Gulf Coast late last month.

While the port strikes and stormy weather may have contributed to eager shopping, the company’s sales were likely also lifted by a deal-hungry consumer. Noel Geoffory, CEO of Helen of Troy (HELE), whose brands include Revlon makeup and Vicks medicines, said Tuesday that “consumers are looking for value”—and finding it at big retail chains.

“What I really see is where consumers are shopping,” said Geoffory on a conference call, a transcrhipt of which was provided by AlphaSense. “You’re seeing customers and retailers like Walmart (WMT) [and] Costco doing really well, and those are the retailers that consumers think of when they think, ‘I’m getting a good value when I’m shopping in those places.'”

Shares of Costco were recently more than 1% lower. though they are up more than 30% this year and trading around record levels.