=Costco Wholesale (COST) reported earnings on Thur 4 Oct 2018 (a/h)

Costco beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; expects to report a material weakness in internal control in 10-K related to general IT controls of user access 

• Reports Q4 (Aug) earnings of $2.36 per share, $0.02 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $2.34; revenues rose 5.0% year/year to $44.41 bln vs the $44.17 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Co previously announced Q4 comps +9.5%, above estimates.
• No September sales update was provided.
• While the Company is still completing its assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of September 2, 2018, in its upcoming fiscal 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K, it expects to report a material weakness in internal control. The weakness relates to general information technology controls in the areas of user access and program change-management over certain information technology systems that support the Company's financial reporting processes. The access issues relate to the extent of privileges afforded users authorized to access company systems. As of the date of this release, there have been no misstatements identified in the financial statements as a result of these deficiencies, and the Company expects to timely file its Form 10-K. Remediation efforts have begun.

Costco expects to report a material weakness in internal in its upcoming fiscal 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K
While the Company is still completing its assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of September 2, 2018, in its upcoming fiscal 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K, it expects to report a material weakness in internal control. The weakness relates to general information technology controls in the areas of user access and program change-management over certain information technology systems that support the Company's financial reporting processes. The access issues relate to the extent of privileges afforded users authorized to access company systems. As of the date of this release, there have been no misstatements identified in the financial statements as a result of these deficiencies, and the Company expects to timely file its Form 10-K.