Costco Wholesale Corporation Overview
Employee trend (thousands, fiscal year-end headcount)
Source: FY2025 Form 10-K, Item 1, Human Capital. Approximately 95% of employees work in membership warehouses and distribution channels; approximately 5% are represented by unions.
Positioning statement (150 words). Costco is the world's largest membership warehouse club operator and, by revenue, one of the three largest retailers on earth. Its architecture is deliberately narrow and deliberately extreme: fewer than 4,000 active SKUs per warehouse against the tens of thousands carried by broadline peers, a gross margin held near 11% of net sales when conventional grocery runs two to three times that, and a paid-membership toll that converts foot traffic into an annuity. In FY2025 that toll produced $5,323 million of membership fee revenue — 1.9% of total revenue but 51% of operating income. The result is a business that compounds through volume and renewal rather than price, protected by a scale-derived cost advantage that competitors find nearly impossible to replicate without abandoning their own economics. With 933 warehouses across 14 countries and Puerto Rico, 82.9 million paid members and a 92%+ North American renewal rate, Costco's principal constraint on growth is real estate, not demand.
2.1 The company's own characterisation
Costco's FY2025 Form 10-K describes the enterprise as the operation of membership warehouses and e-commerce sites built on the premise that offering low prices on a limited selection of nationally-branded and private-label products across a wide range of categories will produce high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover. Management states that when this is combined with the operating efficiencies of volume purchasing, efficient distribution and reduced handling of merchandise in no-frills, self-service warehouse facilities, the resulting volumes and turnover permit profitable operation at gross margins significantly below those of most other retailers. The filing adds a detail that is the single most important sentence in the document for understanding the cash-flow model: the company often sells inventory before it is required to pay for it, while still taking advantage of early-payment discounts.
Management further states its strategy as providing members a broad range of high-quality merchandise at prices it believes are consistently lower than elsewhere, limiting most items to fast-selling models, sizes and colours. Costco carries fewer than 4,000 active stock-keeping units per warehouse in the core warehouse business, and averages 9,000 to 10,000 SKUs online.
2.2 Independent characterisation
Costco is not, in economic substance, a retailer with a loyalty programme attached. It is a subscription business that operates a distribution utility as its fulfilment mechanism. The merchandise operation is run close to breakeven on a fully-loaded basis; the subscription line is the profit pool. This reframing explains behaviours that look irrational under a conventional retail lens: refusing to raise prices when input costs rise, capping the food-court hot dog combo price, absorbing tariff costs rather than passing them through, and publicly committing to return tariff refunds to members rather than to shareholders. Each of these is rational spending on renewal-rate defence.
Three structural consequences follow.
First, operating leverage runs through the membership line, not the merchandise line. In FY2025, membership fees of $5,323 million represented 1.9% of total revenue and 51.3% of operating income of $10,383 million. A one-point change in the renewal rate is worth more to earnings than a meaningful change in merchandise gross margin.
Second, the working-capital model is a financing source rather than a use. At 31 August 2025, merchandise inventories were $18,116 million against accounts payable of $19,783 million — Costco's suppliers fund the entire inventory position and then some. Days inventory outstanding of roughly 27.6 days against days payable of roughly 30.1 days produces a cash conversion cycle of approximately 1.7 days.
Third, the value-chain position is that of a buying agent for the member, not a seller to the customer. Costco sits between producers and a captive, pre-paid demand base. It does not obtain a significant portion of merchandise from any one supplier, which preserves negotiating leverage; it manufactures and packages selected private-label items directly through Costco Wholesale Industries.
2.3 Revenue model composition
Source: Forms 10-K FY2022, FY2024, FY2025; XBRL income statements. FY2023 was a 53-week year.
There is no licensing revenue, no meaningful advertising-media revenue disclosed, and no separately reported services segment. Revenue is therefore product sales plus subscription, with services (pharmacy, optical, hearing aids, food court, tire installation, travel) reported inside net sales under "warehouse ancillary and other businesses."
2.4 Customer types and end markets
- Gold Star (individual) members — the core household consumer, 68.3 million paid at FY2025 year-end.
- Business members — small businesses, restaurants, convenience stores, offices; 12.7 million including affiliates. Business members may add affiliate cardholders at the same annual fee.
- Executive members — an upgrade tier available in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Australia. 38.7 million at FY2025 year-end, rising to 41.2 million by Q3 FY2026. Executive members generated approximately 73.6% of worldwide net sales in FY2025.
- Household cardholders — 64.2 million free secondary cards at FY2025 year-end.
End markets served span consumer packaged goods, fresh food, apparel, consumer electronics and appliances, home furnishings, jewellery, tyres and automotive, motor fuel, retail pharmacy and optical, hearing care, prepared food service, travel and leisure, and foodservice/convenience-store wholesale via Business Centers.
Financial Narrative
6.1 Income statement
Sources: Forms 10-K FY2022, FY2024, FY2025 and XBRL consolidated statements of income; FY2025 Q4 Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. FY2023 was a 53-week year. FY2024 dividends declared totalled $8,589 million or $19.36 per share, including a $15.00 per share special dividend of approximately $6,655 million.
6.2 Margin structure
6.3 Growth and compounding
6.4 Balance sheet
Sources: Forms 10-K FY2023, FY2025; FY2025 Q4 Form 8-K exhibit 99.1; standardised series from S&P Global Market Intelligence via stockanalysis.com. "Total debt including finance leases" is the standardised aggregate and exceeds the face amount of senior notes.
Goodwill and intangibles. Costco does not present goodwill or intangible assets as separate line items on the face of its consolidated balance sheet; such amounts are immaterial to the group and are carried within other long-term assets. Standardised third-party datasets ascribe goodwill of approximately $953 million at FY2025 (largely attributable to the 2020 Innovel/Costco Logistics acquisition) but this figure is a vendor allocation, not a Costco-disclosed line item, and should not be quoted as such. Tangible book value is effectively equal to book value.
6.5 Cash flow
Sources: FY2025 Q4 Form 8-K exhibit 99.1; standardised cash-flow series from Fiscal.ai via stockanalysis.com. The FY2021 and FY2024 dividend outflows include the $10.00 per share special dividend paid December 2020 and the $15.00 per share special dividend paid January 2024 respectively. Repurchases of common stock as reported in the cash flow statement combine open-market buybacks with tax withholdings on stock-based awards; on an as-reported basis Costco repurchased approximately $903 million of stock in FY2025 and $698 million in FY2024, with $393 million and $315 million respectively of tax withholdings.
6.6 Returns, leverage and efficiency ratios
All ratios computed by the analyst from the primary financial data above. ROE and ROA use year-end balance-sheet denominators for reproducibility. ROIC is NOPAT (operating income times one minus the effective tax rate) divided by total debt plus total equity, shown both including and excluding cash and short-term investments. FY2023 day-count metrics use 371 days to reflect the 53-week year.
6.7 Commentary on trends, inflections and drivers
Revenue. The compounding is remarkably linear at approximately 8.9% per annum over the five years, but the composition of that growth shifted decisively in FY2025. FY2022's 15.8% headline growth was inflation-and-fuel driven; FY2025's 8.2% was driven by a 5% increase in shopping frequency and approximately 1% increase in average ticket — a far higher-quality mix. Net sales rose $20,287 million in FY2025, of which $14,788 million was comparable-sales growth. Critically, this was achieved against two headwinds: gasoline price deflation reduced net sales by $2,329 million (93 basis points) despite an approximately 2% volume increase adding $440 million, and foreign currency reduced net sales by approximately $1,943 million (78 basis points).
Gross margin — the key inflection. Gross margin percentage bottomed at 10.48% in FY2022 and has since recovered 64 basis points to 11.12% in FY2025. This is not a pricing event; Costco explicitly does not maximise price. The recovery is attributable to (i) mix shift away from low-margin gasoline as fuel prices deflated, (ii) fresh-food margin gains, and (iii) the co-branded credit card programme. Management quantified FY2025's 20-basis-point improvement as 11 basis points excluding gasoline deflation, of which core merchandise contributed +19 basis points, partly offset by a seven-basis-point LIFO charge for higher merchandise costs and one basis point from ancillary businesses. Foreign currency reduced gross margin by approximately $224 million.
SG&A — the deliberate anti-leverage. SG&A as a percentage of net sales has risen every year since FY2022, from 8.88% to 9.25%. This is a policy outcome, not an execution failure. The 10-K states the philosophy plainly: Costco does not seek to minimise wages and benefits, and will absorb costs other employers would pass to their workforces. The March 2025 wage action — a $0.50 increase in the entry-level floor to at least $20.00 per hour and a $1.00 increase at the top of scale, taking the average US hourly rate to approximately $32.00 — is the proximate cause. Excluding gasoline deflation, FY2025 SG&A deleveraged only three basis points, which is the honest read on cost control.
Operating income and the membership offset. Operating income grew 11.8% in FY2025 against 8.2% revenue growth, because the September 2024 fee increase flowed through with essentially no incremental cost. Membership fee revenue rose 10% to $5,323 million, of which management attributed approximately 40% of the growth to the fee increase itself and the balance to new sign-ups. In Q1 FY2026 the fee increase accounted for slightly less than half of a 14% membership fee growth rate; by Q3 FY2026 the increase contributed approximately a quarter of a 10.7% growth rate, indicating the pricing benefit is now substantially annualised.
Below the line. Interest income and other, net declined from $624 million (FY2024) to $589 million (FY2025) as rate cuts offset higher cash balances — a headwind that will persist while the company carries $15–20 billion of cash. Interest expense fell to $154 million following the May 2024 repayment of the $1,000 million 2.750% Senior Notes. The FY2025 effective tax rate of 25.1% was favourably affected by $100 million of discrete stock-compensation benefits; FY2024's 24.4% benefited from $94 million relating to the special dividend payable through the 401(k) plan, a $63 million transfer-pricing settlement true-up, and $45 million of stock compensation. OECD Pillar Two was effective for fiscal 2025 and did not have a material impact.
Cash flow. Operating cash flow of $13,335 million in FY2025 was a step change (+17.6%), helped by a $1,764 million working-capital release as inventories fell $531 million on a growing sales base. Capital expenditure rose to $5,498 million and the FY2026 plan is approximately $6,500 million. Free cash flow of $7,837 million covered the $2,183 million dividend 3.6 times.
Balance sheet. Costco has been running down leverage for five years: total debt from $11,407 million to $9,935 million while equity rose from $18,078 million to $29,164 million, taking debt/equity from 0.63× to 0.34×. Net cash of $5,349 million at FY2025 year-end grew to approximately $11,764 million by Q3 FY2026. Interest coverage of 67× and net debt/EBITDA of -0.42× make the S&P upgrade to AA in January 2025 unsurprising and arguably overdue.
The one soft spot. FY2024 showed negative working capital of $1,218 million and a current ratio below 1.0 — a direct consequence of the January 2024 special dividend outflow of $6,655 million. This is a capital-allocation artefact, not a liquidity concern, and reversed fully in FY2025.
6.8 Fiscal 2026 year-to-date performance
Zero entries denote figures not separately disclosed in the sources reviewed. Sources: Q1–Q3 FY2026 earnings releases and Form 10-Q filings; Q3 FY2026 earnings call. Operating cash flow for the first 36 weeks of FY2026 was $11,130 million, against $9,470 million in the prior-year period.
Reported monthly sales through July 2026 show net sales for the first 48 weeks of FY2026 of $273.55 billion, up 10.1% from $248.35 billion. July net sales of $23.12 billion rose 10.7%, with reported comparable sales up 10.3% in the US, 4.2% in Canada and 6.0% in Other International, for a total company figure of 8.9%.
7. SEGMENTAL AND GEOGRAPHIC REVENUE MAPPING
7.1 Geographic revenue and growth
Zero entries denote growth rates not computed because the FY2022 segment base was outside the scope of this compilation. Source: company Forms 10-K segment disclosures compiled via Financial Modeling Prep; FY2025 US and Canada figures confirmed against the FY2025 Form 10-K critical audit matter.
7.2 Comparable sales by geography
Source: FY2025 Form 10-K, Item 7, Net Sales. FY2024 comparable sales were calculated using comparable retail weeks.
7.3 Country-level disclosure
Costco does not disclose revenue by individual country below the segment level, with one exception: the FY2025 risk factors state that California comprised 26% of US net sales in FY2025 — implying approximately $52 billion of revenue from a single state. The 10-K also discloses that US and Canadian operations together comprised 86% of net sales and 84% of operating income in FY2025, and that international operations including Canada generated 27% of net sales and 34% of operating income. Warehouse counts by country are disclosed monthly and serve as the practical proxy for country-level scale.
7.4 Fastest-growing and declining regions
Fastest growing on revenue in FY2025: the United States, at +8.64%, an unusual outcome that reverses the historical pattern. The US accelerated from 4.25% growth in FY2024 to 8.64% in FY2025 for three identifiable reasons: (i) the September 2024 membership fee increase applies to the US and Canada only and flows entirely through those two segments; (ii) fifteen of the twenty-four net new warehouses opened in FY2025 were in the US; and (iii) the US segment is not exposed to the FX translation drag that reduced group net sales by $1,943 million.
Fastest growing on an underlying basis: Other International. On a currency- and fuel-adjusted comparable-sales basis, Canada and Other International both grew 8% in FY2025 against the US at 7%. The reported figures understate international momentum. In Q2 FY2026, Other International reported comparable sales of 13.0% against 7.1% adjusted — a 590-basis-point currency and fuel benefit — while Canada reported 10.1% against 7.6% adjusted.
Slowest: Canada on reported revenue, at +5.88% in FY2025, constrained by a weak Canadian dollar and by only two net new warehouses in the segment. Canada nonetheless remains the most profitable segment by margin (5.01%) and by asset return (25.31%).
No region declined in any year of the period under review.
Financial Detail
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Net sales (USD M) | 192052 | 222730 | 237710 | 249625 | 269912 |
Membership fees (USD M) | 3877 | 4224 | 4580 | 4828 | 5323 |
Total revenue (USD M) | 195929 | 226954 | 242290 | 254453 | 275235 |
Merchandise costs (USD M) | 170684 | 199382 | 212586 | 222358 | 239886 |
Gross margin, net sales basis (USD M) | 21368 | 23348 | 25124 | 27267 | 30026 |
Selling, general and administrative (USD M) | 18537 | 19779 | 21590 | 22810 | 24966 |
Operating income (USD M) | 6708 | 7793 | 8114 | 9285 | 10383 |
Depreciation and amortisation (USD M) | 1781 | 1900 | 2077 | 2237 | 2426 |
EBITDA (USD M) | 8489 | 9693 | 10191 | 11522 | 12809 |
Interest expense (USD M) | 171 | 158 | 160 | 169 | 154 |
Interest income and other net (USD M) | 143 | 205 | 533 | 624 | 589 |
Income before income taxes (USD M) | 6680 | 7840 | 8487 | 9740 | 10818 |
Provision for income taxes (USD M) | 1601 | 1925 | 2195 | 2373 | 2719 |
Net income including noncontrolling interests (USD M) | 5079 | 5915 | 6292 | 7367 | 8099 |
Net income attributable to Costco (USD M) | 5007 | 5844 | 6292 | 7367 | 8099 |
Basic EPS (USD) | 11.30 | 13.17 | 14.18 | 16.59 | 18.24 |
Diluted EPS (USD) | 11.27 | 13.14 | 14.16 | 16.56 | 18.21 |
Weighted average diluted shares (000s) | 444346 | 444757 | 444452 | 444759 | 444803 |
Regular dividends declared per share (USD) | 2.98 | 3.38 | 3.84 | 4.36 | 4.92 |
Total dividends declared per share including special (USD) | 2.98 | 3.38 | 3.84 | 19.36 | 4.92 |
Effective tax rate (%) | 24.0 | 24.6 | 25.9 | 24.4 | 25.1 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gross margin as % of net sales | 11.13 | 10.48 | 10.57 | 10.92 | 11.12 |
SG&A as % of net sales | 9.65 | 8.88 | 9.08 | 9.14 | 9.25 |
Operating margin as % of total revenue | 3.42 | 3.43 | 3.35 | 3.65 | 3.77 |
EBITDA margin as % of total revenue | 4.33 | 4.27 | 4.21 | 4.53 | 4.65 |
Pre-tax margin as % of total revenue | 3.41 | 3.45 | 3.50 | 3.83 | 3.93 |
Net margin as % of total revenue | 2.56 | 2.58 | 2.60 | 2.90 | 2.94 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Total revenue CAGR FY2021 to FY2025 (%) | 8.87 |
Net sales CAGR FY2021 to FY2025 (%) | 8.87 |
Membership fee CAGR FY2021 to FY2025 (%) | 8.24 |
Operating income CAGR FY2021 to FY2025 (%) | 11.55 |
Net income CAGR FY2021 to FY2025 (%) | 12.79 |
Diluted EPS CAGR FY2021 to FY2025 (%) | 12.75 |
Regular dividend per share CAGR FY2021 to FY2025 (%) | 13.36 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash and cash equivalents (USD M) | 11258 | 10203 | 13700 | 9906 | 14161 |
Short-term investments (USD M) | 917 | 846 | 1534 | 1238 | 1123 |
Cash and short-term investments (USD M) | 12175 | 11049 | 15234 | 11144 | 15284 |
Receivables net (USD M) | 1803 | 2241 | 2285 | 2721 | 3203 |
Merchandise inventories (USD M) | 14215 | 17907 | 16651 | 18647 | 18116 |
Total current assets (USD M) | 29505 | 32696 | 35879 | 34246 | 38380 |
Property and equipment net (USD M) | 27382 | 29040 | 30722 | 33082 | 36122 |
Total assets (USD M) | 59268 | 64166 | 68994 | 69831 | 77099 |
Accounts payable (USD M) | 16278 | 17848 | 17483 | 19421 | 19783 |
Deferred membership fees (USD M) | 2042 | 2174 | 2337 | 2501 | 2854 |
Total current liabilities (USD M) | 29441 | 31998 | 33583 | 35464 | 37108 |
Current portion of long-term debt (USD M) | 799 | 73 | 1081 | 103 | 75 |
Long-term debt excluding current portion (USD M) | 6692 | 6484 | 5377 | 5794 | 5713 |
Total debt including finance leases (USD M) | 11407 | 10906 | 10536 | 9949 | 9935 |
Net cash position (USD M) | 768 | 143 | 4698 | 1195 | 5349 |
Total liabilities (USD M) | 41190 | 43519 | 43936 | 46209 | 47935 |
Total equity (USD M) | 18078 | 20647 | 25058 | 23622 | 29164 |
Working capital (USD M) | 64 | 698 | 2296 | -1218 | 1272 |
Book value per share (USD) | 39.75 | 46.63 | 56.59 | 53.31 | 65.80 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Net cash provided by operating activities (USD M) | 8958 | 7392 | 11068 | 11339 | 13335 |
Additions to property and equipment (USD M) | 3588 | 3891 | 4323 | 4710 | 5498 |
Free cash flow (USD M) | 5370 | 3501 | 6745 | 6629 | 7837 |
Net cash used in investing activities (USD M) | 3535 | 3915 | 4972 | 4409 | 5311 |
Cash dividend payments (USD M) | 5748 | 1498 | 1251 | 9041 | 2183 |
Repurchases of common stock plus tax withholdings (USD M) | 808 | 802 | 979 | 1015 | 1296 |
Net cash used in financing activities (USD M) | 6488 | 4283 | 2614 | 10764 | 3775 |
Stock-based compensation (USD M) | 665 | 724 | 774 | 818 | 860 |
Free cash flow margin as % of total revenue | 2.74 | 1.54 | 2.78 | 2.61 | 2.85 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Return on equity year-end basis (%) | 27.7 | 28.3 | 25.1 | 31.2 | 27.8 |
Return on assets year-end basis (%) | 8.4 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 10.6 | 10.5 |
Return on invested capital including cash (%) | 17.3 | 18.6 | 16.9 | 20.9 | 19.9 |
Return on invested capital excluding cash (%) | 29.5 | 28.7 | 29.5 | 31.3 | 32.7 |
Current ratio (times) | 1.00 | 1.02 | 1.07 | 0.97 | 1.03 |
Total debt to equity (times) | 0.63 | 0.53 | 0.42 | 0.42 | 0.34 |
Net debt to EBITDA (times) | -0.09 | -0.01 | -0.46 | -0.10 | -0.42 |
Interest coverage, operating income basis (times) | 39.2 | 49.3 | 50.7 | 54.9 | 67.4 |
Total asset turnover (times) | 3.31 | 3.54 | 3.51 | 3.64 | 3.57 |
Inventory turns, merchandise cost basis (times) | 12.0 | 11.1 | 12.8 | 11.9 | 13.2 |
Days inventory outstanding (days) | 30.4 | 32.8 | 29.1 | 30.6 | 27.6 |
Days sales outstanding (days) | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
Days payable outstanding (days) | 34.8 | 32.7 | 30.5 | 31.9 | 30.1 |
Cash conversion cycle (days) | -1.0 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.7 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | Q1 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | Q3 FY2026 | First 36 weeks FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Net sales (USD M) | 65978 | 68240 | 69154 | 203370 |
Total revenue (USD M) | 67307 | 69597 | 70525 | 207430 |
Membership fees (USD M) | 1329 | 1355 | 1370 | 4060 |
Operating income (USD M) | 2463 | 0 | 0 | 7880 |
Net income (USD M) | 2001 | 2035 | 2192 | 6230 |
Diluted EPS (USD) | 4.50 | 4.58 | 4.93 | 14.01 |
Total company comparable sales growth (%) | 6.4 | 7.4 | 9.8 | 7.9 |
Adjusted comparable sales growth (%) | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.6 |
Digitally-enabled comparable sales growth (%) | 20.5 | 22.6 | 21.5 | 21.6 |
Warehouses at period end (units) | 921 | 924 | 931 | 931 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
United States total revenue (USD M) | 176630 | 184143 | 200046 |
Canada total revenue (USD M) | 33056 | 34874 | 36923 |
Other International total revenue (USD M) | 32604 | 35436 | 38266 |
Total revenue (USD M) | 242290 | 254453 | 275235 |
United States revenue growth (%) | 0.0 | 4.25 | 8.64 |
Canada revenue growth (%) | 0.0 | 5.50 | 5.88 |
Other International revenue growth (%) | 0.0 | 8.69 | 7.99 |
Total revenue growth (%) | 6.76 | 5.02 | 8.17 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
United States comparable sales growth (%) | 3 | 4 | 6 |
Canada comparable sales growth (%) | 2 | 7 | 5 |
Other International comparable sales growth (%) | 3 | 8 | 5 |
Total company comparable sales growth (%) | 3 | 5 | 6 |
E-commerce comparable sales growth (%) | -6 | 16 | 16 |
United States comparable sales excluding fuel and FX (%) | 4 | 5 | 7 |
Canada comparable sales excluding fuel and FX (%) | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Other International comparable sales excluding fuel and FX (%) | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Total company comparable sales excluding fuel and FX (%) | 5 | 6 | 8 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Closing price 14 August 2026 (USD) | 961.10 |
Fifty-two week high (USD) | 1096.50 |
Fifty-two week low (USD) | 844.06 |
Market capitalisation (USD B) | 426.2 |
Approximate one-year change in market capitalisation (%) | -4.2 |
Twenty-year market capitalisation CAGR (%) | 15.44 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Costco cumulative TSR index | 133.65 | 158.84 | 163.78 | 276.32 | 293.59 |
S&P Retail Select Index cumulative TSR | 184.84 | 128.26 | 129.00 | 154.78 | 173.48 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | Value at 14 August 2026 |
|---|---|
Share price (USD) | 961.10 |
Trailing twelve month diluted EPS (USD) | 19.88 |
Price to earnings, trailing twelve months (times) | 48.3 |
Price to earnings, forward (times) | 43.9 |
Enterprise value (USD B) | 414.4 |
Trailing twelve month revenue (USD B) | 293.6 |
Enterprise value to sales (times) | 1.41 |
Trailing twelve month EBITDA (USD B) | 13.8 |
Enterprise value to EBITDA (times) | 30.1 |
Price to book (times) | 12.7 |
Price to free cash flow (times) | 48.4 |
Dividend yield (%) | 0.61 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Consensus price target (USD, MarketBeat, c. 12 August 2026) | 1059.53 |
Implied upside to 14 August 2026 close (%) | 10.2 |
Bernstein price target (Zhihan Ma, 6 August 2026) | 1194 |
Bernstein rating | Buy |
Next scheduled earnings date | 24 September 2026 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular dividend declared per share (USD) | 2.98 | 3.38 | 3.84 | 4.36 | 4.92 | 5.88 |
Regular dividend growth (%) | 10.4 | 13.4 | 13.6 | 13.5 | 12.8 | 12.6 |
Special dividend per share (USD) | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 15.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Cash dividend payments (USD M) | 5748 | 1498 | 1251 | 9041 | 2183 | 0 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 | Q1 FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
Shares repurchased (000s) | 1004 | 943 | 225 |
Average price paid per share (USD) | 695.29 | 957.66 | 932.02 |
Total repurchase value (USD M) | 698 | 903 | 210 |
Remaining authorisation at period end (USD M) | 0 | 1962 | 1752 |
Capital Markets
| Agency | Rating | Outlook | Date of action |
|---|---|---|---|
S&P Global Ratings | AA (upgraded from A+) | Stable | 21 January 2025 |
Moody's Investors Service | Aa3 | Stable | Affirmed 1 November 2022 |
DBRS Morningstar | AA (low) issuer rating | Stable | Confirmed 30 November 2023; short-term issuer rating and senior unsecured notes rating discontinued and withdrawn on the same date, not reflective of a change in credit risk |
Fitch Ratings | Not identified | — | Not confirmed |
Capital Markets
| Instrument | Principal at 31 Aug 2025 (USD M) | Principal at 23 Nov 2025 (USD M) | Maturity |
|---|---|---|---|
3.000% Senior Notes | 1000 | 1000 | May 2027 |
1.375% Senior Notes | 1250 | 1250 | June 2027 |
1.600% Senior Notes | 1750 | 1750 | April 2030 |
1.750% Senior Notes | 1000 | 1000 | April 2032 |
Other long-term debt (Japan subsidiary Guaranteed Senior Notes) | 805 | 751 | Various |
Total long-term debt, gross | 5805 | 5751 | — |
Less unamortised discounts and issuance costs | 17 | 15 | — |
Less current portion | 75 | 70 | — |
Long-term debt excluding current portion | 5713 | 5666 | — |
Fair value of total long-term debt | 5370 | 5342 | — |
Capital Markets
| Item | Guidance |
|---|---|
Net new warehouse openings, FY2026 | 28 |
Net new warehouse openings, FY2027 and beyond | More than 30 per year |
Ten-year unit plan | Approximately 300 new warehouses, roughly half US and half international |
Capital expenditure, FY2026 | Approximately $6.5 billion |
Capital expenditure, forward annual | Approximately $6.5 billion |
Tariff refunds | Claims filed; refunds expected on approved claims on a rolling basis over the following months; value to be returned to members through lower prices and better values, with transparency about the mechanism |
Dividend | Quarterly payment expected to continue; current rate $1.47 per quarter, $5.88 annualised |
Capital Markets
| Item | Timing | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Q4 and FY2026 results | c. 24 September 2026 | Full-year revenue near $300 billion; FY2027 opening plan and capex |
FY2026 Form 10-K | c. October 2026 | Updated risk factors on tariffs, utilities and AI competition; FY2026 segment splits |
Tariff refund quantum and mechanism | Rolling through FY2027 | Cash amount, accounting treatment, and how the pass-through to members is executed |
Membership fee increase decision | FY2027–FY2029 | The single largest un-modelled earnings lever |
Renewal rate trajectory | Quarterly | Worldwide rate at 89.7–89.8% and diluted by online and international mix; the premium multiple rests on this number |
Executive member penetration | Quarterly | 41.2 million of 82.9 million paid; each upgrade is $65 of pure margin |
Digitally-enabled comparable sales | Quarterly | Whether 20%+ growth is durable or a post-pandemic base effect |
Warehouse opening cadence | Quarterly | Whether 28 net FY2026 openings are achieved and whether 30+ is delivered in FY2027 |
Spain, France and China expansion | Ongoing | The 300-warehouse plan depends on international execution |
$4.0 billion buyback authorisation expiry | January 2027 | Re-authorisation, upsizing, or a further special dividend |
May and June 2027 note maturities | Refinancing decision in FY2027 | $2,250 million; the S-3 shelf is already in place |
Gasoline price direction | Continuous | 10% of net sales and the largest single distortion in reported comps |
Teamsters relations | Ongoing | Next contract cycle from a higher wage anchor |
CISO appointment | Pending since June 2025 | Unfilled in a company facing active privacy litigation and regulatory demands |
Consolidated pixel-tracker privacy litigation | Ongoing | Motion to dismiss denied in substantial part; the most advanced adverse-posture matter |
DEI and federal contractor enforcement | Ongoing | Costco has positioned to defend rather than retreat |
Executive Leadership
| Name | Position | Executive officer since | Age | Prior roles and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ron M. Vachris | President and Chief Executive Officer; Director since February 2022 | 2016 | 60 | President and COO Feb 2022–Dec 2023; EVP Merchandising Jun 2016–Jan 2022; SVP Real Estate Development Aug 2015–Jun 2016; SVP/GM Northwest Region 2010–Jul 2015; 28 prior years in warehouse operations management |
Gary Millerchip | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | 2024 | 54 | SVP and CFO of The Kroger Co. April 2019–February 2024; CEO of Kroger Personal Finance from July 2010; earlier career at Royal Bank of Scotland. Also a director of Sallie Mae Bank since 2025 |
Russ Miller | Senior Executive Vice President, US Operations | 2018 | 68 | EVP/COO Southwest Division and Mexico Jan 2018–May 2022; SVP Western Canada Region 2001–Jan 2018. Retiring effective February 2026 |
Caton Frates | Executive Vice President, COO Southwest Division | 2022 | 57 | SVP Los Angeles Region 2015–May 2022. Appointed Senior EVP, Warehouse Operations — US and Mexico effective February 2026, succeeding Russ Miller |
Claudine Adamo | Executive Vice President, Merchandising | 2022 | 55 | SVP Non-Foods 2018–Feb 2022; VP Non-Foods 2013–2018 |
Patrick Callans | Executive Vice President, Administration | 2019 | 63 | SVP Human Resources and Risk Management 2013–Dec 2018 |
Teresa Jones | Executive Vice President, Global Depots and Traffic | 2024 | 56 | SVP Depot Operations Aug 2022–Jul 2024; VP Depot Operations 2018–2022 |
Jim C. Klauer | Executive Vice President, COO Northern Division | 2018 | 63 | SVP Non-Foods and E-commerce Merchandise 2013–Jan 2018 |
Javier Polit | Executive Vice President, Chief Information and Digital Officer | 2023 | 61 | CIO Mondelez International 2022–2024; CIO Procter & Gamble 2017–2022; Group CIO The Coca-Cola Company 2007–2017 |
Pierre Riel | Executive Vice President, COO International Division | 2022 | 62 | SVP Country Manager Canada 2019–Mar 2022; SVP Eastern Canada Region 2001–2019 |
Yoram Rubanenko | Executive Vice President, COO Eastern Division | 2021 | 61 | SVP/GM Southeast Region 2013–Sep 2021; VP Regional Operations Manager Northeast 1998–2013 |
John Sullivan | Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | 2021 | 65 | General Counsel since 2016; Corporate Secretary since 2010 |
W. Richard Wilcox | Executive Vice President, COO Southwest Division | 2025 | 59 | SVP/GM San Diego Region 2016–Oct 2025 |
| Name | Role | Age | Director since | Independent | Committee memberships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hamilton E. James | Non-executive Chairman | 74 | August 1988 | Yes | Chairman of the Board |
Susan L. Decker | Director | 63 | October 2004 | Yes | Audit |
Kenneth D. Denman | Director | 67 | March 2017 | Yes | Audit (Chair) |
Helena B. Foulkes | Director | 61 | August 2023 | Yes | Audit; Nominating and Governance |
Sally Jewell | Director | 69 | January 2020 | Yes | Audit; Compensation |
Jeffrey S. Raikes | Director | 67 | December 2008 | Yes | Nominating and Governance (Chair) |
Gina M. Raimondo | Director nominee (2026 meeting) | 54 | Nominee | Yes (Board determination) | To be determined if elected |
John W. Stanton | Director | 70 | October 2015 | Yes | Compensation (Chair) |
Ron M. Vachris | Director; CEO and President | 60 | February 2022 | No | — |
Mary Agnes (Maggie) Wilderotter | Director | 70 | October 2015 | Yes | Compensation; Nominating and Governance |
| Name and position | Salary (USD) | Bonus (USD) | Stock awards (USD) | Non-equity incentive (USD) | Deferred comp earnings (USD) | All other comp (USD) | Total (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ron M. Vachris, CEO and President | 1183270 | 0 | 12036800 | 600000 | 53896 | 58631 | 13932597 |
Gary Millerchip, EVP and CFO | 915115 | 16000 | 5453713 | 184000 | 0 | 201685 | 6770513 |
Russ D. Miller, Senior EVP, COO US and Mexico | 765192 | 16000 | 4123770 | 184000 | 27861 | 64855 | 5181678 |
Pierre Riel, EVP, COO International Division | 713654 | 16000 | 4123770 | 184000 | 361 | 249232 | 5287017 |
Javier Polit, EVP, CIDO | 541116 | 3016000 | 3670902 | 184000 | 0 | 96191 | 7508209 |
Richard A. Galanti, former EVP | 502079 | 0 | 5260598 | 0 | 594005 | 148054 | 6504736 |
| Holder | Shares | Percent of class | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
The Vanguard Group, Inc. | 43455368 | 9.79 | Form 13F-HR filed 7 November 2025 |
BlackRock, Inc. | 34781929 | 7.83 | Form 13F-HR filed 12 November 2025 |
| Date | Initiative | Detail and target |
|---|---|---|
Sept 2024 | Membership fee increase | Gold Star/Business to $65; Executive to $130; 2% reward cap to $1,250. First increase since 2017 |
Feb 2024 (continuing) | Costco Member Prescription Program | Certain medications at $9.99 for a 90-day supply via participating pharmacies including Walgreens and Albertsons |
Mar 2025 | Sesame weight-loss programme | Three-month subscription at $179 covering clinical consultation and, where clinically appropriate, GLP-1 prescriptions (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound). Available in all 50 states |
Mar 2025 | Wage investment | US and Canada entry-level floor raised to at least $20.00 per hour; top of scale +$1.00; average US hourly rate approximately $32.00 |
FY2025 | Executive member exclusive shopping hours | Introduced in the US to widen the Executive-tier value gap |
Sept 2025 | Sesame partnership expansion | Discount member pricing across a broad range of outpatient care: $29 virtual primary care visits, $79 online mental health therapy, $72 health checkups |
Oct 2025 | Half-price GLP-1 access via Sesame | Ozempic and Wegovy from approximately $349 per month without insurance |
Q1 FY2026 | Metric change | E-commerce comparable sales replaced by digitally-enabled comparable sales, capturing digitally-initiated sales fulfilled from warehouses or distribution centres plus Costco Travel |
Q1 FY2026 | Creative real estate programme | Conversion of a former hypermarket in Mulhouse, France; conversion of two refurbished home-improvement warehouses into Canadian business centres. Explicit objective: broaden market-expansion options and lower capital investment per opening |
Q1 FY2026 | Real estate team expansion | Team enlarged to support a 30+ net openings per year target |
Q3 FY2026 | Tariff refund pass-through commitment | Refund claims filed following the 20 February 2026 Supreme Court ruling; management committed to returning value to members "in some form," with transparency about mechanism |
FY2026 | Sesame fertility programme | Virtual fertility care with IVI RMA from $99 per month |
Ongoing | Clean energy | Commitment to operate on 100% clean-energy electricity by 2035, including from over 120 on-site solar systems |
| Target | Detail |
|---|---|
Net new warehouse openings, FY2026 | 28 (revised down from 35 gross/30 net owing to Spanish construction delays) |
Net new warehouse openings, FY2027 onward | More than 30 per year |
Ten-year unit growth ambition | Approximately 300 new warehouses over ten years, split roughly 50/50 between the US and international markets |
Capital expenditure, FY2026 | Approximately $6.5 billion (initial 10-K guidance was $6.0–6.5 billion; refined to approximately $6.5 billion by Q1 FY2026) |
Capital expenditure, forward | Approximately $6.5 billion per year |
Format innovation | Exploration of unique store models for dense inner-city markets including Los Angeles and New York |
Share repurchase | $4.0 billion authorisation expires January 2027; $1,752 million remained at 23 November 2025 |
Competitive Landscape
| Competitor | Segment overlap | Latest reported revenue | Positioning versus Costco |
|---|---|---|---|
Walmart Inc. | Supercenters, grocery, e-commerce, and Sam's Club | $713 billion total revenue, $706.4 billion net sales, FY ended 31 January 2026 | The only competitor with comparable global purchasing scale. Commands approximately 23.6% of the US grocery market. Competes for the same household budget across nearly every Costco category |
Sam's Club (Walmart segment) | Direct warehouse club | Approximately $93 billion US net sales, FY2026; $90.2 billion and $2.4 billion segment operating income in FY2025 | The nearest direct competitor. Raised fees to $60/$120 effective 1 May 2026, still below Costco's $65/$130. Membership income posted a fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth (+12.5%); e-commerce +24%, with more than half of online orders club-fulfilled. Broader national-brand selection; weaker private label |
Amazon.com, Inc. | E-commerce, grocery (Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh), pharmacy, subscription (Prime) | Surpassed Walmart in annual revenue for the first time in CY2025 (exact figure not verified in this compilation) | The subscription competitor. Prime is the only membership programme with comparable renewal economics. Competes hardest in non-foods and increasingly in pharmacy/GLP-1 |
BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. | Direct warehouse club, US East Coast | $21.46 billion total revenue, FY2025 (52 weeks ended 31 January 2026); membership fee income $511.7 million TTM to 2 May 2026 | Third of the US club trio. 263 clubs and 199 gas stations across 21 states; over 8 million members; 90% tenured renewal rate for four consecutive years; digitally-enabled comps +31% in Q4; private labels Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen at approximately 27% of non-gasoline net sales. Geographically concentrated where Costco is most saturated |
PriceSmart, Inc. | Direct warehouse club, Central America, Caribbean, Colombia | Operating income $232.5 million and net income $147.9 million in FY2025 (year ended 31 August 2025); adjusted EBITDA $320.7 million | The club model in markets Costco does not serve. A useful read-across on club economics in emerging markets; not a direct threat |
Target Corporation | General merchandise, grocery | Not verified in this compilation | Competes in non-foods discretionary and seasonal; no membership toll of comparable scale |
The Kroger Co. | Grocery, pharmacy, fuel | Not verified in this compilation | Competes in fresh, grocery and fuel. Costco's CFO is a former Kroger CFO — a notable talent flow |
Aldi and Lidl (Schwarz Group) | Hard discount grocery | Not verified in this compilation | The most structurally similar cost model: limited assortment, high private-label penetration, low gross margin. Competes for the value-seeking grocery trip without a membership fee |
Dollar General and Dollar Tree | Small-format value retail | Not verified in this compilation | Compete for trip frequency in low-income and rural markets Costco does not serve |
Tesco, Carrefour, Ahold Delhaize | International grocery | Not verified in this compilation | Regional competitors in Costco's European markets (UK, Spain, France, Sweden, Iceland) |
Regional gasoline retailers (Buc-ee's, QuikTrip, Wawa, Sheetz) | Motor fuel | Not verified in this compilation | Compete directly for the roughly $27 billion of Costco gasoline volume that also drives warehouse traffic |
Home Depot and Lowe's | Hardware, appliances, seasonal | Not verified in this compilation | Named in Costco's own compensation peer group; compete in appliances and outdoor seasonal |
| Metric | Costco FY2025 | Walmart FY2026 | Sam's Club FY2026 | BJ's FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total revenue (USD B) | 275.2 | 713.0 | 93.0 | 21.5 |
Revenue growth (%) | 8.2 | 0.0 | 3.1 | 4.6 |
Operating margin (%) | 3.77 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Net margin (%) | 2.94 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Membership fee revenue (USD B) | 5.32 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.51 |
Research and development intensity (% of revenue) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
