Costco says piloting automated pay stations

Says future impact of tariffs remains extremely fluid. Says recently eliminated tariffs have now been replaced with new tariffs for at least the next 150 days. Says complexity of tariffs implemented over the past year, including layering of different tariffs on top of each other and multiple changes in rates throughout the year, also made it challenging to track the exact impact to an individual item sold. Says in Q2 lowered prices on key items such as eggs, cheese, coffee, and some paper products. Says since last call, opened four warehouses, including one relocation in the U.S., one net new U.S. location, and two additional Canadian business centers. Says piloting automated pay stations that will allow members to pay for their pre-scan order seamlessly, with an average transaction time of around eight seconds. Says September 2024 U.S. and Canada membership fee increase accounted for about one third of membership income growth. Says at Q2 end, had 40.4M paid executive memberships, up 9.5% versus last year. Says the situation in the Middle East could impact fuel costs and shipping schedules if there is instability in the region for a sustained period of time. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.