ISSAQUAH, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/03/16 -- Costco Wholesale Corporation ("Costco" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: COST) today reported net sales of $8.32 billion for the month of January, the four weeks ended January 31, 2016, an increase of two percent from $8.15 billion during the similar period last year.

For the twenty-two weeks ended January 31, 2016, the Company reported net sales of $49.98 billion, an increase of two percent from $49.01 billion during the similar period last year.

Comparable sales were as follows:

Comparable sales for the four-week period excluding the negative impact from foreign exchange, and for the 22-week period excluding the negative impact from both foreign exchange and gasoline price deflation were as follows:

Additional discussion of these results is available in a pre-recorded telephone message. The recording can be accessed by dialing 1-855-859-2056 (conference ID 57690094). This message will be available today through 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday, February 5, 2016.

The Company plans to release its operating results for the second quarter (12 weeks) of fiscal 2016 ending February 14, 2016, as well as February sales results, on March 2, 2016. A conference call to discuss these results is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. (PT) on March 3, 2016, and will be available via webcast on www.costco.com (click on Investor Relations and "webcasts").

Costco currently operates 698 warehouses, including 488 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 90 in Canada, 36 in Mexico, 27 in the United Kingdom, 24 in Japan, 12 in Korea, 11 in Taiwan, eight in Australia and two in Spain. Costco also operates electronic commerce web sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea and Taiwan.

Certain statements contained in this document and the pre-recorded telephone message constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, breaches of security or privacy of member or business information, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, capital spending, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (generally including health care costs), energy and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions, and other risks identified from time to time in the Company's public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update these statements, except as required by law.

CONTACTS:
Costco Wholesale Corporation
Richard Galanti
425/313-8203
Bob Nelson
425/313-8255
Jeff Elliott
425/313-8264

Source: Costco