Costco Wholesale Corp

Costco Wholesale runs membership warehouses: big, no-frills stores for households and businesses that pay an annual fee, $65 in the U.S. and different elsewhere. Each warehouse stocks fewer than 4,000 products, many only in bulk packs, mixing national brands with Costco's own Kirkland Signature label. At August 30, 2026, it operated 939 warehouses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, the U.K. and other countries across Asia, Europe and the Pacific, plus online stores.

The model relies on volume, not markups. Costco keeps prices low, moves goods quickly and runs lean stores, so its gross margin (sales minus the cost of the goods, as a share of sales) was just 12.8% in the fiscal year ended August 30, 2026. Of $303.2 billion in revenue that year, food and sundries made up 38.5%, non-food items such as electronics and appliances 25.5%, gas, pharmacy, travel, e-commerce and other services 20.2%, and fresh foods 13.8%.

Membership fees brought in $5.9 billion. That was only 1.9% of revenue but roughly half the size of the $11.7 billion operating income, so keeping members matters a great deal. Renewal rates were 92.3% in the U.S. and Canada and 89.8% worldwide. By segment, the U.S. supplied 72.5% of revenue, other international markets 14.1% and Canada 13.4%.

• In Q4 FY2026 (ended Aug 30, 2026), revenue was $95.72B, up 11.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $3.00B (+14.9%).
• For fiscal 2026, revenue was $303.15B (+10.1% year over year; +9.1% a year from FY2021 to FY2026) with a 3% net margin.

• Over FY2022–FY2026: $3.57B in buybacks and $16.43B in dividends.
• Regular dividends per share rose in every available year from FY2018 to FY2026, leaving out years that included a special dividend (FY2017, FY2021, FY2024).
• Special dividends in FY2017, FY2021, FY2024 are excluded from the streak.
• Regular dividends per share grew +13.2% a year over 4 years (FY2022–FY2026).
• Dividends took 26.6% of earnings and 26.2% of free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.
• Shares outstanding changed -0.1% from Dec 14, 2021 to Sep 29, 2026.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Market value at each year end

Costco Wholesale’s market value went from $70.33B at the end of 2016 to $461.10B on Nov 2, 2026, about 6.6 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 20%.

Form 4 filings from 2025-10-28 to 2026-10-28 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 3 sales ($3.8M).

Large shareholders (13G filings)

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1. Heavy reliance on the U.S., Canada and California. The U.S. and Canada produced 86% of net sales and 83% of operating income in fiscal 2026. California alone made up 26% of U.S. net sales. A slowdown there could hit results hard.
2. Membership loyalty depends on trust. Profits rely on members renewing and paying for Executive upgrades. The renewal rate was 89.8% worldwide at the end of fiscal 2026. Damage to the brand, culture or Kirkland Signature store-brand quality could lower it.
3. Very thin margins leave little room for error. Costco kept 12.8 cents of gross profit and 3.9 cents of operating profit per sales dollar in fiscal 2026. Higher wages, healthcare or energy costs, or a shift to lower-margin goods, could squeeze profits.
4. Finding new warehouse sites could get harder. Growth depends on new locations. Land-use rules, local opposition, laws aimed at large retailers and tight power or water supplies can delay openings. New warehouses can also pull members from existing ones.
5. Tough rivals, in stores and online. Costco competes with Walmart and its Sam's Club, BJ's Wholesale Club, Target, Kroger and Amazon. Digitally initiated sales were 11% of net sales in fiscal 2026, and a weak online experience could hurt results.
6. High expectations are built into the stock. The shares traded at 48.8 times fiscal 2026 earnings as of October 30, 2026, a high price that assumes steady growth. Costco warns that missing market expectations could hurt the stock price.

• Oct 16, 2026 Executive or board change
• Oct 14, 2026 Other company announcement
• Sep 24, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jul 8, 2026 Other company announcement
• May 28, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Apr 15, 2026 Other company announcement
• Mar 5, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jan 21, 2026 Shareholder vote results; Other company announcement
• Dec 11, 2025 Quarterly results released

Costco pays a dividend, but a small one: the yield was 0.69% as of October 30, 2026. Retirees relying on it for income may need to sell shares to fund withdrawals. Setting aside years with special (one-time) dividends (fiscal 2017, 2021 and 2024), regular dividends per share rose every year from fiscal 2018 to fiscal 2026, reaching $5.54, and grew about 13.2% a year from fiscal 2022. In fiscal 2026 the dividend took 26.6% of earnings and 26.2% of free cash flow (cash left after capital spending), a modest share. Buybacks totaled $3.6 billion over fiscal 2022–2026, yet the share count barely moved.

In the 2008 financial crisis the shares fell 48% from their high and did not regain it until December 2010. They fell 13.6% in the 2020 COVID crash and 31.4% in the 2022 bear market, recovering by July 2020 and December 2023. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.