Costco profits, sales, rise

Costco (COST) reported that net sales for its second quarter rose 4% to $26.87 billion, while sales for the six month period ending on Feb. 15 rose 6% to $53.16 billion.

The discount warehouse company beat analysts expectations with net income during the second quarter of $598 million or $1.35 per diluted share. That was up from $463 million or $1.05 per share during the same period in 2014.

Earlier this week, Costco said Citigroup and Visa would become its credit card partners, replacing American Express which has had an exclusive relationship with the store chain since 1999. That partnership will end next year, when their agreement expires.

Costco shares were up 2.05% to $150.19 a share in early morning trading.