Costco uses US$184 million in tariff refunds to lower prices
Tomas Kauer 
Costco Wholesale Corp. is using refunds from U.S. tariffs to lower prices at its stores.
The company said it received US$184 million in refunds in its fourth quarter after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act back in February.
The items receiving the discounts include produce, meat, beverages and non-food items.
“We view that as really very much as giving value back to our members for the tariff refunds that we received,” Costco chief financial officer Gary Millerchip said during an earnings call on Thursday.
“Our goal was to make sure that we spread those as we could to items that would have the most impact for members.”
Millerchip said the refunds his company received in the quarter represent about a third of what they are expecting in total, and added that Costco has already received about the same amount this quarter.
“We intend to continue investing the majority of the dollars we received in increased member values,” he said.
Overall, Costco’s total revenue rose 11 per cent to US$95.7 billion, beating expectations of US$94.86 billion.
During the holiday season last year, tariffs forced Costco to thin down its non-food product line and its Christmas goods as customers were more selective with discretionary purchases.
Costco chief executive Gary Vachris said the tariff-induced product changes died off by the third quarter and this holiday season is expected to be back to normal.
“(I) feel very good about the holidays, feel very good about the buying lineup that our folks have,” he said.
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