COST
SP100NasdaqGSCostco Wholesale Corporation
Consumer Defensive · Discount Stores · United States
Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. It offers merchandise, including sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, deli, liquor, and tobacco; non-food merchandise comprising appliances, small electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, lawn and garden, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal, automotive, stamps, tickets, apparel, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and fresh food, such as meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products. The company is also involved in warehouse ancillary operations, which include gasoline, pharmacies, optical, food courts, hearing-aid centers, and tire installation centers. In addition, it engages in e-commerce, business centers, travel, and other businesses. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.
www.costco.com ↗Shares trade at a premium 47.8× trailing earnings, easing to 42.1× on forward estimates. Profitability shows a net margin of 3.0% and return on equity of 29.2%. Leverage is modest at -0.1× net debt/EBITDA. Revenue grew 21.5% year-on-year. It yields 0.6% in dividends. The mean analyst target of USD1082.94 sits 13.8% above the current price (Buy, 33 analysts).
business model
Costco operates a membership-only warehouse club model, selling a limited assortment of high-volume merchandise at low markups and generating much of its operating profit from recurring annual membership fees rather than product margins. The model drives high sales volume, fast inventory turnover, and strong purchasing power.
revenue segments
The vast majority of revenue is net merchandise sales across foods and sundries, non-foods (appliances, electronics, apparel), fresh foods, and ancillary businesses (gas stations, pharmacy, optical, food courts, e-commerce). Membership fees, though a small share of revenue, are a critical and highly profitable component.
key dependencies
Costco depends on membership renewal rates (typically very high), continued warehouse and membership growth, low-cost sourcing and supply-chain efficiency, its Kirkland Signature private label, and consumer traffic; gasoline sales and ancillary services drive visit frequency.
competitors
Competitors include Sam's Club (Walmart) and BJ's Wholesale in warehouse clubs, Walmart and Target in general merchandise and groceries, Amazon in e-commerce, and Aldi/Trader Joe's and other value retailers.
moat
Costco's moat comes from scale-driven purchasing power and low prices, high-margin recurring membership fees that lock in loyalty, a strong Kirkland Signature brand, efficient no-frills operations, and a virtuous cycle where volume enables lower prices.
risks
Risks include reliance on membership renewals and consumer discretionary spending, thin merchandise margins that magnify cost pressures, competition from Walmart/Sam's Club and Amazon, exposure to fuel-price and currency swings, and execution risk in international and e-commerce expansion.
Financials & metrics
as of 26 Aug 2026Price is around the middle of its range. Green = nearer the yearly low, red = nearer the high — a position indicator, not a buy/sell signal.
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Full financial statements
Income statement
| Line item | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $275.24B | $254.45B | $242.29B | $226.95B | — |
| Cost of revenue | $239.89B | $222.36B | $212.59B | $199.38B | — |
| Gross profit | $35.35B | $32.09B | $29.70B | $27.57B | — |
| Operating expense | $24.97B | $22.81B | $21.59B | $19.78B | — |
| Operating income | $10.38B | $9.29B | $8.11B | $7.79B | — |
| Interest expense | $154.00M | $169.00M | $160.00M | $158.00M | — |
| Pretax income | $10.82B | $9.74B | $8.49B | $7.84B | — |
| Tax provision | $2.72B | $2.37B | $2.19B | $1.93B | — |
| Net income | $8.10B | $7.37B | $6.29B | $5.84B | — |
| EBITDA | $13.40B | $12.15B | $10.72B | $9.90B | — |
| Diluted EPS | $18.21 | $16.56 | $14.16 | $13.14 | — |
Balance sheet
| Line item | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | $77.10B | $69.83B | $68.99B | $64.17B | — |
| Current assets | $38.38B | $34.25B | $35.88B | $32.70B | — |
| Cash & equivalents | $14.16B | $9.91B | $13.70B | $10.20B | — |
| Inventory | $18.12B | $18.65B | $16.65B | $17.91B | — |
| Total liabilities | $47.94B | $46.21B | $43.94B | $43.52B | — |
| Current liabilities | $37.11B | $35.46B | $33.58B | $32.00B | — |
| Total debt | $8.17B | $8.17B | $8.88B | $9.04B | — |
| Long-term debt | $5.71B | $5.79B | $5.38B | $6.48B | — |
| Shareholders' equity | $29.16B | $23.62B | $25.06B | $20.64B | — |
| Retained earnings | $22.65B | $17.62B | $19.52B | $15.59B | — |
| Working capital | $1.27B | -$1.22B | $2.30B | $698.00M | — |
Cash flow
| Line item | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | $13.34B | $11.34B | $11.07B | $7.39B | — |
| Investing cash flow | -$5.31B | -$4.41B | -$4.97B | -$3.92B | — |
| Financing cash flow | -$3.77B | -$10.76B | -$2.61B | -$4.28B | — |
| Capital expenditure | -$5.50B | -$4.71B | -$4.32B | -$3.89B | — |
| Free cash flow | $7.84B | $6.63B | $6.75B | $3.50B | — |
| Dividends paid | -$2.18B | -$9.04B | -$1.25B | -$1.50B | -$5.75B |
| Share buybacks | -$903.00M | -$700.00M | -$676.00M | -$439.00M | — |
| End cash position | $14.16B | $9.91B | $13.70B | $10.20B | — |
Reported figures from public filings via Yahoo Finance. Line coverage varies by company. Not investment advice.
Dividends
Analyst assessment
as of 26 Aug 2026Aggregate consensus only. Named per-analyst targets require a premium source and are not shown; the data model is ready to hold them if one is added.
Technicals
as of 26 Aug 2026News
Sector peers
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