Pricesmart Reports Q3 2026 Results: Full Earnings Call Transcript

Pricesmart (NASDAQ: PSMT ) released third-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Thursday. Read the complete transcript below. APIs provide real-time access to earnings call transcripts and financial data. Visit to learn more.

View the webcast at Summary Pricesmart, Inc. 5% increase in sales. Strategic initiatives included the announcement of a new warehouse club in Chile, expansion in Costa Rica, and the opening of new distribution centers in Colombia and Jamaica to optimize supply chain operations. 4 million for the third quarter.

6% increase in membership income. 6 million, the implementation of a new point-of-sale system, and progress in human capital management systems. Management expressed optimism about continued growth and operational improvements despite macroeconomic challenges such as currency volatility and geopolitical uncertainties. 's earnings release conference call for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended on May 31, 2026.

After remarks from our company's representatives, David Price, Chief Executive Officer, and Roberto Hernandez, Chief Financial Officer, you'll be given an opportunity to ask questions as time permits. As a reminder, this conference call is limited to one hour and is being recorded today, Thursday, July 9, 2026. A digital replay will be available shortly following the conclusion of the call through Thursday, July 16, 2026 by dialing 1-800-2030 for domestic callers or 1-647-362-9199 for international callers and entering replay access code 589-8084-POUND. I would like to turn the call over to Pricesmart's Chief Financial Officer, Roberto Hernandez.

Please proceed, sir. Roberto Hernandez, Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Operator, and welcome to Pricesmart's earnings call for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended on May 31, 2026. We will be discussing the information that we provided in our earnings press release and our 10-Q, which were both released yesterday on 7-8-26. Also, in these remarks we refer to non-GAAP financial measures.

You can find the reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in our earnings press release and our 10-Q. com, where you can also sign up for email alerts. As a reminder, all statements made on this conference call, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements concerning the company's anticipated plans, revenues, and related matters. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements containing the words expect, believe, plan, will, may, should, estimate, and some other expressions.

All forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions as of today, July 9, 2026. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks detailed in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, the quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed yesterday, and other filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC's website at These risks may vary from time to time. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements made during this call. Now I will turn the call over to David Price, Pricesmart's Chief Executive Officer.

, Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Gualberto, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. We are happy with the strong results from the third quarter. These results reflect the strength of our offering, the loyalty of our members, and the dedication and passion of every employee across our 14 countries who show up every day to do right by our members and live our values.

I want to take a moment to sincerely thank each of them. Their hard work and creativity is the foundation of everything we do. We've delivered these results against the backdrop of continued global uncertainty, currency volatility, evolving trade policy, and broader macroeconomic pressures that every multinational is navigating right now. But our team stayed focused and disciplined, and I am proud of how they executed.

We're encouraged by how the business is trending as we move into the final quarter of the fiscal year. Before I get into the financial highlights, I want to share a few important leadership updates. We're pleased to welcome Shweta Bhatia as our new Chief Information Officer. Shweta brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across major global retailers and has a strong track record of improving operations, strengthening teams, and driving meaningful business impact for people.

Her centered, collaborative approach aligns closely with our culture, and her expertise in retail operations, modernization, data, and AI will support our next phase of growth. We also want to thank Wayne Satan for his leadership and meaningful contributions to Pricesmart during his time with us. Wayne, we are grateful for everything you brought to this company. We're also excited to welcome Sherry White, who joined us in January and as of June 1st has made the transition to Chief Merchandising Officer.

Sherry brings deep merchandising experience from Petco, Target, and Unilever. Since joining Pricesmart, Sherry has made an immediate and meaningful impact on our merchandising organization and this appointment reflects our confidence in her leadership and vision for the road ahead. Paul Kovaleski has assumed the role of Executive Vice President, Other Businesses, with oversight of pharmacy, optical, audiology, food service, bakery, and tire center. Paul has been with Pricesmart for many years and has made significant contributions across both merchandising and operations.

We are excited about what this expanded scope means for those categories going forward. With that, let's turn to the highlights from the quarter. 5 billion. 5% in constant currency.

9% in constant currency. Three of our recent club openings—Cartago, Quetzaltenango, and La Romana—are not yet included in our comparable sales numbers. 4 billion. 6% in constant currency.

4% in constant currency. 1% versus the same prior-year period. The average price per item increased 6% year over year while average items per basket decreased 1%. As we mentioned on the second quarter call, the timing of Semana Santa shifts each year.

This year it fell earlier than it did in the prior year. So for a cleaner apples-to-apples view, it's worth looking at the eight-week period that captures Semana Santa in both years. 5% in constant currency. Now let's take a look at our regions.

7% in constant currency. 2% in constant currency. Our Central America segment contributed approximately 480 basis points of positive impact to the growth in total consolidated comparable net merchandise sales for the third quarter. 2% in constant currency.

6% in constant currency. Our Caribbean region contributed approximately 170 basis points of positive impact to the growth in total consolidated comparable net merchandise sales for the third quarter. 6% in constant currency. 9% in constant currency.

Colombia contributed approximately 420 basis points of positive impact to the growth in total consolidated comparable net merchandise sales for the quarter. The increase is driven in part by the appreciation of the Colombian peso when compared to the same period last year, among other operational and market-driven impacts. 3%. On the non-food side, we reconfigured our sales floor in our warehouse club layouts to enhance the visibility of our softline offerings and since making these changes, we have continued to see the benefits with improved sales performance in these categories.

New product innovation and seasonal events also continue to play a strong role in our sales growth. We saw notable momentum from a range of limited-time and seasonal offerings—apparel, housewares, small appliances, and sporting goods—which reinforces the treasure hunt experience our members come to our clubs for. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is also a major global moment. We always like to share in that excitement in our warehouse clubs and online with special merchandise and savings for that event.

It's an occasion that naturally brings members together and we see it as a meaningful opportunity to drive engagement and showcase our value. We've built out a broader assortment around it—food, beverage, electronics, and soccer team offerings—along with digital campaigns featuring match schedules, watch parties, and credit card promotions in select markets. We've also seen our members share content around these promotions organically, which is really just the modern version of word of mouth and it reinforces the kind of community feel that's always been at the heart of Pricesmart. 3%.

Next, let's turn to membership. 1 million accounts. 6%, driven in part by a stronger peso, and Colombia has been one of our market leaders in Platinum membership signups as well. We also reintroduced an auto-renewal program and are seeing strong adoption across most of our markets as Latin America and the Caribbean become increasingly digital.

Auto-renewal is one of the ways we're actively reducing friction in the member experience. 6% over the prior-year period, and Platinum upgrades have been a significant contributor to that growth. This tier is built for our most engaged members, with annual cash back on eligible purchases that reinforces loyalty and encourages higher spending. 1% in the same period last year.

Our Platinum promotions, which we typically run in March and November, have resonated well with our members and have given them a clear moment to see and act on that value. 7% in the third quarter, consistent year over year and indicative of a resilient membership base. 5% as of May 31, a new all-time high for the second consecutive quarter and a result that we're really proud of. I'll now highlight our progress in real estate, supply chain transformation, and technology, and how these investments are strengthening our ability to better serve members and continue growing the business.

We are excited to announce that in the third quarter we executed a lease for our first warehouse club in Chile, which will be in Comuna Las Condes in Santiago. This club will be located within the Mall Plaza Los Dominicos shopping center and is anticipated to open in the spring of 2027. This will be our first warehouse club located within a mall setting and will offer excellent accessibility and a retail environment that will resonate with the quality- and value-focused members we will serve in Chile. This club establishes the foundation for what we believe can become a meaningful multi-club market over time.

In addition to our planned warehouse at Mall Plaza Los Dominicos, we have entered into executory agreements to acquire land for two additional potential warehouse club sites in Chile. I would like to provide additional color on the scope of our investment in this market. We expect to spend approximately $100 million in capital expenditures on our first three warehouse clubs and our central offices in Chile over the next several fiscal years. This represents our first phase of investment and we see potential for future phases given the opportunities that we see in the market.

We have also begun building a strong team in Chile, including an experienced country general manager and a local buying team that we're really excited about. To date, we have approximately 20 employees operating out of leased office space as we plan for a larger permanent central office. Consistent with our approach in other markets, we intend to offer a mix of local and imported goods. We also see an opportunity to meaningfully grow exports out of gwic.

We already import a variety of products from Chile into our existing markets and we believe we can grow that business further. In terms of growth in our existing markets, in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026, we purchased land for our 11th club in Costa Rica, in Santo Tomas de Santo Domingo in the Heredia Province. This club is approximately four miles east from our nearest club in Heredia and will be built on a six-acre property with an anticipated opening in the spring of 2027. While the new location is geographically close, the reality is that traffic congestion in Heredia is significant and meaningfully reduces mobility in the city.

Consumer demand in this market continues to exceed expectations and supports the need for an additional warehouse club in this part of the city. We see a clear need for both clubs to effectively serve members, reduce travel time, and capture the full growth potential of the region. In addition to these two new clubs, we have also previously announced four other warehouse clubs currently in our pipeline: our new club in Ciudad Quesada, Costa Rica, which is scheduled to open next month; two clubs in Jamaica, one in Montego Bay and the other on South Camp Road in Kingston; and a new club in Diemueva, Guatemala.

Once these six new clubs are opened, we will operate 63 warehouse clubs in total. We also recently opened our sixth warehouse club in the Dominican Republic in La Romana in May 2026. We are proud to have incorporated sustainable design practices into that build and are encouraged by its initial performance since opening. In addition to new club growth, we plan to initiate warehouse and parking lot expansions, as well as remodeling projects in fiscal 2026 and 2027, for our Vía Brasil, Panama, and Barbados clubs.

On the supply chain front, a central part of our transformation strategy is optimizing distribution to support our value proposition on price. Currently we operate major distribution centers in Miami, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad, and Guatemala. During the third quarter we began operations at a new distribution center in Colombia. This facility is especially important for us.

It is in Bogotá, a prime and highly strategic location. From a logistics standpoint, establishing our DC there allows us to take advantage of the strong concentration of local production in that region, and it underscores how significant Colombia has become within our long-term strategy and how much room for growth we still see in that market. In addition, we plan to open the distribution center in Jamaica during fiscal year 2026 and in the Dominican Republic during fiscal year 2027.

We also expect to relocate and consolidate our Miami cold regional distribution center into our existing Miami regional dry facility during fiscal year 2027, which will help us better leverage space, reduce redundancy, and improve efficiency across both operations. Alongside these new distribution centers, in the second quarter we completed our implementation of our third-party distribution centers in China to consolidate merchandise sourced in the country. These DCs have already helped reduce landing costs and lead times through direct shipments from Asia to our local markets, which is exactly what we were looking for.

Our vision for our global distribution center network is to help improve product availability, reduce lead times, and lower landed costs, among other efficiency gains. Alongside our physical footprint, we are continuing to make progress on the rollout of the RELEX forecasting and replenishment platform and expect to complete the full implementation in the second quarter of fiscal year 2027.