Costco
COST Nasdaq· Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail
Last close · Oct 27, 2026
$992.13
KIRA · Stoqly’s AI analyst, in plain words
- Costco had $303.2B of revenue in fiscal 2026, up 10.1% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +9.1% a year on average.
- Its operating margin was 3.9%, up 0.1 pts: of every 100 in sales, about 4 is left after running the business.
- Costco made $9.2B of net profit in fiscal 2026. From fiscal 2017 to 2026, diluted EPS grew 14.6% a year.
- Free cash flow was $9.4B in fiscal 2026, 3.1% of revenue.
- Costco returned $3.3B to shareholders in fiscal 2026, 35% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.1%.
- Costco has $13.7B more cash than debt.
Market cap
$440.9B
P/E
—
Revenue
$303.2B
Net income
$9.2B
Free cash flow
$9.4B
Operating margin
3.9%
Costco in 30 seconds · fiscal 2026
Are sales growing?
+10.1%
Yes. Sales grew 10.1% last year.
Does it make a profit?
3.0%
A little. It keeps 3.0% of every sale as profit.
Does profit turn into cash?
3.1%
Partly. 3.1% of sales ends up as free cash.
Is debt under control?
Net cash
Yes. It has more cash than debt.
How healthy are the accounts?
7 / 9
Solid. It passes 7 of 9 health tests.
What Costco does
Costco runs membership warehouse stores that sell groceries, fresh food, household goods, electronics, appliances, clothing and more, along with gas stations, pharmacies, optical and hearing aid centers, and food courts. Shoppers must pay a yearly fee to join; in the United States the basic membership costs $65. It had 939 warehouses at the end of August 2026, in the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the UK, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, New Zealand and several European countries. It also sells online in nine countries. Costco keeps prices low by stocking fewer than 4,000 kinds of items per warehouse, buying in bulk and selling from plain, self-service buildings. It makes money on merchandise sales at thin margins and on membership fees, including from Executive members, who pay more and earn rewards on purchases. Its member renewal rate was 92.3% in the United States and Canada at the end of fiscal 2026. Gasoline made up 11% of net sales.
Biggest risks, in its own words
- Its heavy dependence on how its stores in the United States and Canada perform.
- Failing to keep growing its membership, keep members loyal, or protect its brand and culture.
- New warehouses drawing members away from its existing ones in the same markets.
- Suppliers failing to deliver quality goods on time and at competitive prices.
- Fiscal year ends
- August 30, 2026
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Oct 7, 2026
- Legal name
- COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW
- CIK
- 0000909832
Costco · COST
Results and finances
The last 5 fiscal years. Amounts in USD.
| Fiscal year | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and profit | |||||
| Revenue | $227.0B | $242.3B | $254.5B | $275.2B | $303.2B |
| Revenue growth | 15.8% | 6.8% | 5.0% | 8.2% | 10.1% |
| Gross margin | 12.2% | 12.3% | 12.6% | 12.8% | 12.8% |
| Operating margin | 3.4% | 3.4% | 3.7% | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| Net income | $5.8B | $6.3B | $7.4B | $8.1B | $9.2B |
| Net margin | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 3.0% |
| Diluted EPS | $13.14 | $14.16 | $16.56 | $18.21 | $20.76 |
| Cash | |||||
| Cash from operations | $7.4B | $11.1B | $11.3B | $13.3B | $15.8B |
| Capital expenditure | $3.9B | $4.3B | $4.7B | $5.5B | $6.4B |
| Free cash flow | $3.5B | $6.7B | $6.6B | $7.8B | $9.4B |
| FCF margin | 1.5% | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 3.1% |
| Dividends paid | $1.5B | $1.3B | $9.0B | $2.2B | $2.5B |
| Share buybacks | $439M | $676M | $700M | $903M | $848M |
| Share count change | 0.1% | −0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | −0.1% |
| Debt and strength | |||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $11.0B | $15.2B | $11.1B | $15.3B | $21.3B |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $6.6B | $6.5B | $7.4B | $7.3B | $7.6B |
| Shareholders' equity | $20.6B | $25.1B | $23.6B | $29.2B | $35.8B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.5x | −0.9x | −0.3x | −0.6x | −1.0x |
| Current ratio | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.1x |
| Interest coverage | 49.3x | 50.7x | 54.9x | 67.4x | 80.6x |
| Returns and quality | |||||
| Return on capital | 38.2% | 37.0% | 38.9% | 37.9% | 40.7% |
| Return on equity | 30.6% | 27.5% | 30.3% | 30.7% | 28.4% |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| Altman Z'' | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
Insiders bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Insiders sold, 12 months
$14.6M
9 insiders
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
How to read these numbers
- Revenue:
- Total sales reported in the income statement.
- Operating margin:
- Operating income as a share of revenue.
- Net income:
- Profit after all expenses, interest and tax.
- Free cash flow:
- Cash from operations minus capital spending.
- Net debt / EBITDA:
- Years of EBITDA needed to pay off net debt. Below zero means more cash than debt.
- Return on capital:
- After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Costco · COST
Charts and comparison
Ten years at a glance, and how it stacks up against similar companies.
Revenue
Net income
Margins, % of revenue
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
Free cash flow
Dividends and buybacks
Similar companies
Each company’s latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don’t line up exactly.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costco COST | $440.9B | 10.1% | 3.9% | 3.1% | 40.7% | — | 7 |
| Walmart WMT | $951.9B | 4.7% | 4.2% | 2.1% | 16.1% | 43.1x | 7 |
| Target TGT | $67.6B | −1.7% | 4.9% | 2.7% | 15.0% | 15.4x | 6 |
| Amazon AMZN | $2.76T | 12.4% | 11.2% | 1.1% | 20.6% | 20.4x | 6 |
Price compared with profit (P/E)
How many times its yearly profit per share one share costs. Higher means investors pay more for each unit of profit.
KIRA
At $992.13 a share, the company is worth $440.9B.
Costco grew sales faster than 2 of its 3 similar companies.
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000909832). Data updated October 9, 2026. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.