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Costco stock rallies after membership fees raised for first time in 7 years. But high expectations could limit gains, analyst says.

Costco Wholesale Corp. announced it will increase its membership fees for the first time in seven years, effective September 1, 2023, leading to a rise in its stock price. The annual fee for U.S. and Canada Gold Star, Business, and Business add-on members will increase by $5 to $65, while Executive memberships will go up by $10 to $130, with the maximum annual 2% reward for Executive members also increasing from $1,000 to $1,250. This adjustment, the first since June 2017, is expected to generate an additional $350 million in operating income annually, and follows a trend of membership fee hikes approximately every five to six years. The announcement was made during Costco's fiscal third-quarter earnings call, where the company also reported a 6.5% increase in net sales to $53.6 billion and a 7.7% rise in comparable sales for the quarter ending May 12, 2023.

Read the Full MarketWatch Article at:
[ https://www.marketwatch.com/story/costco-to-raise-membership-fees-for-first-time-in-7-years-and-its-stock-rallies-17e53804 ]