NEW YORK, May 27, 2026, 19:02 EDT
- PriceSmart closed at $169.89, up roughly 1.6%, after reaching the top of its latest range.
- This came after the company posted stronger fiscal Q2 sales and profit in April. There was no new earnings release.
- Latin America and the Caribbean is still the main focus for growth. Currency swings and squeezed consumers are still the big risks.
PriceSmart, Inc. shares pushed higher Wednesday, building on steep gains from May. Investors are sticking with the membership warehouse chain’s growth pitch in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The stock closed at $169.89, gaining $2.74, or 1.64%, with volume near 195,600 shares, market data from StockAnalysis showed. It touched $171.48 intraday.
Timing is key. Wednesday was a standard U.S. trading day, with Nasdaq’s 2026 calendar showing markets closed for Memorial Day on Monday, May 25. The regular Nasdaq equity session is 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
No major earnings out Wednesday. Traders circled back to PriceSmart’s April update, when the company posted fiscal Q2 revenue up 9.7% to $1.50 billion. Net income for the quarter was $49.1 million, up 12.2%, or $1.62 per diluted share.
PriceSmart posted a 7.6% gain in comparable net merchandise sales for the quarter. That figure includes only clubs open long enough for a year-on-year comparison. Stripping out currency moves, comparable sales increased 5.5%.
PriceSmart runs warehouse clubs using a model similar to Costco but with a different reach. The company said it had 56 clubs in 12 countries and one U.S. territory at the end of the quarter. It sells groceries and general goods in Central America, the Caribbean and Colombia.
Chief Executive David Price said on the April call that growth was “broad-based,” adding the company had momentum heading into the second half, even with “continued global uncertainty.” Investing
Expansion plans have also helped support the stock. PriceSmart has leased land for an eighth warehouse club in Guatemala and said it expects to run 61 clubs after opening that site and four other clubs it has already announced.
Price said on the call there’s still “opportunity to expand our footprint” in current markets, adding Chile “remains a top priority.” CFO Gualberto Hernandez pointed to product mix and “cost savings” from Asia consolidation as the main drivers for the quarter’s gross-margin bump. Investing
Costco didn’t move much, closing up just a touch at $1,003.69. Walmart lagged, slipping to $118.54. BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) gave up ground, finishing at $84.20. Retail stocks were mixed, market data showed.
But the trade has its flaws. PriceSmart makes most sales in local money but books results in dollars, so swings in forex can hit reported growth. Currency shifts added $27.7 million to net merchandise sales last quarter, the company said. Fuel, shipping, tariffs, local demand and permits for new clubs can all drag on growth too.
Investors are sticking with execution at this point. PriceSmart’s market cap sits near $5.1 billion after the last close. The shares trade at about 33.5 times earnings, based on price-to-earnings.
