- Company name
- Costco Wholesale
- Sector
- Membership warehouse retail
- About
- Costco runs membership-only warehouse stores: shoppers must pay an annual fee to buy there, either a $65 Gold Star membership or a $130 Executive membership that pays back up to 2% of qualifying purchases, capped at $1,250 a year. It operates roughly 900 warehouses worldwide, most of them in the US and Canada, with a smaller and growing footprint in Mexico, Japan, the UK, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, and other countries. Inside each warehouse, Costco stocks a limited assortment, often just one or two options per category, and buys in bulk to sell at low markups, betting that low prices keep members coming back and renewing every year. Membership fees are almost pure profit: they now cover roughly half of Costco's total operating income even though merchandise sales make up the vast majority of reported revenue. Costco also sells gasoline at many locations, and its warehouses often include pharmacies, optical centers, hearing-aid centers, and food courts. Kirkland Signature, its private label, spans food, household goods, electronics, and clothing. E-commerce is still a small share of total sales but is growing much faster than the warehouse business overall.
- Thesis
- Costco trades at a premium because its membership model produces unusually predictable, recurring profit. Renewal rates sit near record highs. Membership fee income alone covers roughly half of operating profit. This insulates results from swings in merchandise pricing. Sales also keep growing quickly, and the board keeps raising the dividend and paying special payouts. Investors are effectively paying for certainty, since the stock trades at a much higher earnings multiple than the broader market. For that premium to be earned, comparable-sales growth and renewal rates need to keep holding up as temporary boosts from gasoline prices and calendar timing fade. Tariff costs also need to stay manageable, since Costco says it is trying to absorb rather than pass on these costs. Fiscal fourth-quarter results, reported September 24, 2026, showed sales still growing at a double-digit pace and renewal rates still near records. In September 2026 sales, reported October 7, 2026, comparable sales without gasoline and currency effects grew 7.6%. That supports the premium for now. The next test comes with first-quarter fiscal 2027 results, expected around December 2026, once the temporary boost from gasoline prices has likely faded. If growth cools sharply once those boosts are gone, the premium could fade over the next two to four quarters.
- Risks
- The stock trades about 23% above the analysts' fair value estimate and near 44 times trailing earnings, versus about 26 times for the S&P 500. This leaves little room for error: any slowdown in sales growth or renewal rates could trigger an outsized decline as the market re-rates the stock.
US tariff policy has kept shifting through 2026, including a temporary import surcharge that expired in July 2026 and newer duties that replaced it. Costco has said it is trying to absorb rather than fully pass on these costs, which pressures its already thin merchandise margins.
Membership fees now supply roughly half of Costco's operating income, even though they are a small fraction of reported revenue. A slowdown in membership growth, or weaker renewal rates after a future fee increase, would hit profit disproportionately compared with a dip in merchandise sales alone.
Recent comparable-sales growth has been boosted by gasoline price inflation (worldwide average fuel prices per gallon were up over 25% year over year in August 2026) and by calendar timing. If gas prices fall back, headline comparable-sales growth could look noticeably weaker even if underlying shopping volume stays healthy.
Warehouse retail is maturing in Costco's largest market, the US, and competitors including Walmart's Sam's Club and Amazon are investing to take share in bulk buying and membership retail. Continued execution by Costco's leadership, CEO Ron Vachris since January 2024 and CFO Gary Millerchip since March 2024, is needed to keep growing ahead of that competition.
As a grocery and general-merchandise retailer that sells heavily under its own Kirkland Signature brand, Costco is exposed to product recalls, food-safety incidents, and product-liability claims that could damage trust in that brand.
- Balance sheet
- Cash: $21.3B
Debt: $6.2B
Net cash: $15.1B
Interest cover: 80×
Debt due within 12 months: $2.3B
Ratings: S&P AA (stable outlook)
Costco has a net cash balance sheet and uses very little debt. Much of the cash comes from how the business works: accounts payable of $22.6 billion were larger than inventory of $19.3 billion, so suppliers fund the stock on the shelves. Members also pay $3.0 billion of fees in advance. Debt is long-term debt at August 30, 2026, and the $2.25 billion due within 12 months is senior notes that mature in May and June 2027. About $2.4 billion of long-term operating lease liabilities are not in the debt. Interest cover is for fiscal 2026. S&P raised Costco to AA from A+ in January 2025. In fiscal 2026, operating cash flow was $15.8 billion. It paid for $6.4 billion of capital spending, $2.5 billion of regular dividends and $0.8 billion of buybacks. The cash pile still grew by $6.0 billion. This large surplus gives room for another special dividend or more stores. Costco has paid special dividends from such surpluses before, most recently $12 per share in January 2026.
As of 2026-08-30.
- Checkpoints
- Nov 2026 (estimate): October sales report: comparable sales without gasoline. Pending. Watch: US comparable sales growth excluding gasoline and currency that stays in the mid-single digits or higher passes; a clear slowdown once the gasoline price boost fades fails.
Dec 10, 2026 (estimate): Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings: renewals, margins, tariffs. Pending. Watch: Worldwide renewal rate near 90% and membership fee growth with stable gross margin despite tariffs pass; falling renewal rates or a margin squeeze from absorbed tariffs fail.
Jan 2027 (estimate): Buyback authorization expires; new capital return decision. Pending. Watch: A new buyback authorization or a special dividend paid from the net cash passes; no new program while cash keeps building fails.
- Recent events
- 2026-10-07: Costco reported September 2026 sales, the first month of fiscal 2027. Net sales for the five weeks ended October 4, 2026, were $30.02 billion, up 13.0%. Total company comparable sales grew 11.4%. Without the effects of gasoline prices and currency, total company comparable sales grew 7.6%, up from 5.4% in August, and US comparable sales grew 8.0%. The later Labor Day added a little more than 0.5 percentage points to September sales. Digitally-enabled sales grew 19.0%.
2026-09-24: Costco reported Q4 fiscal 2026 and full fiscal-year results. Fourth-quarter net sales were $93.9 billion, up 11.2%, and diluted EPS was $6.75 (including $0.15 from one-time IEEPA tariff refunds), up from $5.87 a year earlier. Full fiscal-year net sales were $297.2 billion, up 10.1%. Membership fee income was $1.85 billion, up 7.3%, with 150.4 million total cardholders and an 89.8% worldwide renewal rate.
2026-09-17: Costco expanded its partnership with DoorDash to a nationwide U.S. launch, letting members order same-day delivery from any domestic warehouse.
2026-09-02: Costco reported August 2026 sales and closed fiscal 2026: full fiscal year (52 weeks ended August 30, 2026) net sales were $297.3 billion, up 10.2%. Fourth-quarter (16 weeks) net sales were $93.9 billion, up 11.3%, and August net sales alone were $23.70 billion, up 9.9%, with digitally-enabled comparable sales up 17.9% for the month.
2026-05-28: Costco reported Q3 fiscal 2026 results: net sales of $69.15 billion, up 11.6%, and diluted earnings per share of $4.93, up from $4.28 a year earlier. Membership fee income was $1.37 billion, up 10.7%, with the US/Canada renewal rate at 92.2% and the worldwide rate at 89.7%.
2026-04-15: Costco's board raised the quarterly cash dividend from $1.30 to $1.47 per share ($5.88 annualized), the company's 22nd consecutive annual dividend increase, payable May 15, 2026.
2026-03-05: Costco reported Q2 fiscal 2026 results: net sales of $68.24 billion, up 9.1%, and diluted earnings per share of $4.58, up from $4.02. Membership fee income rose 13.6% to $1.35 billion, with 82.1 million paid members and an 89.7% worldwide renewal rate.
2026-01-16: Costco paid a special cash dividend of $12.00 per share, announced in December 2025, distributing about $5.3 billion to shareholders.
2025-12-11: Costco reported Q1 fiscal 2026 results: net sales of $65.98 billion, up 8.2%, and diluted earnings per share of $4.50, up from $4.04. Membership fee income rose 14% to $1.329 billion, and digitally-enabled comparable sales grew 20.5%.