COST Nasdaq Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail Financials FY2017–FY2026
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.
Hi! I read Costco’s latest annual report (fiscal 2026). Here is what stands out:
Good So-so Weak
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.
Rules of thumb on reported numbers. A starting point, not a recommendation.
Is it selling more, and how much does it keep?
KIRA · 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.
In plain words: Revenue is all the money customers paid. The margins show how many cents of each dollar of sales are left over at each step: after making the product (gross), after running the business (operating) and after everything, tax included (net).
Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Margins, % of revenue
KIRA · Costco made $9.2B of net profit in fiscal 2026. From fiscal 2017 to 2026, diluted EPS grew 14.6% a year.
Loss periods are shown in red.
In plain words: Net income is the profit left after every cost and tax. Earnings per share (EPS) splits that profit across every share, so it shows what one share earned.
Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS
How much cash comes in, and where does it go?
KIRA · Free cash flow was $9.4B in fiscal 2026, 3.1% of revenue.
Cash from operations minus capital spending.
In plain words: Profit on paper is not the same as cash in the bank. Free cash flow is the cash left after paying to run and maintain the business: the money it can hand back to shareholders, save or invest.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
KIRA · Costco returned $3.3B to shareholders in fiscal 2026, 35% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.1%.
In plain words: Companies hand cash back in two ways: dividends (cash paid to shareholders) and buybacks (buying back their own shares, so each remaining share owns a bigger slice).
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)
KIRA · In the last 12 months, insiders sold $14.6M of shares on the open market and bought none.
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. “Plan” marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
In plain words: Insiders are the people who run or own a big part of the company. Buying with their own money can signal confidence; selling often has personal reasons, like taxes or diversifying.
Bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$14.6M
9 insiders
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2026 | William Richard WilcoxExecutive Vice President | Sold | 1,100 | $958.21 | $1.1M | Form 4 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | Caton FratesSr. Executive Vice President | Sold | 801 | $915.93 | $0.7M | Form 4 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | Claudine AdamoExecutive Vice President | Sold | 2,200 | $915.93 | $2.0M | Form 4 |
| Jun 23, 2026 | Kenneth D DenmanDirector | Sold | 885 | $957.45 | $0.8M | Form 4 |
| Apr 1, 2026 | Caton FratesExecutive Vice President | Sold | 700 | $993.00 | $0.7M | Form 4 |
| Mar 9, 2026 | Claudine AdamoExecutive Vice President | Sold | 730 | $1,003.02 | $0.7M | Form 4 |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Teresa A. JonesExecutive Vice President | Sold | 850 | $986.26 | $0.8M | Form 4 |
| Jan 16, 2026 | Susan L DeckerDirector | Sold | 458 | $955.00 | $0.4M | Form 4 |
| Jan 14, 2026 | James C KlauerExecutive Vice President | Sold | 1,500 | $939.00 | $1.4M | Form 4 |
| Jan 9, 2026 | Russell D MillerSr. Executive Vice President | Sold | 1,500 | $916.32 | $1.4M | Form 4 |
| Dec 30, 2025 | Javier PolitExecutive Vice President | Sold | 558 | $862.90 | $0.5M | Form 4 |
| Dec 29, 2025 | Javier PolitExecutive Vice President | Sold | 2,049 | $867.21 | $1.8M | Form 4 |
| Nov 7, 2025 | William Richard WilcoxExecutive Vice President | Sold | 2,400 | $930.13 | $2.2M | Form 4 |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Claudine AdamoExecutive Vice President | Sold | 2,700 | $935.68 | $2.5M | Form 4 |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Tiffany Marie BarbrePrincipal Accounting Officer | Sold | 1,239 | $934.62 | $1.2M | Form 4 |
| Sep 29, 2025 | Russell D MillerSr. Executive Vice President | Sold | 3,381 | $915.00 | $3.1M | Form 4 |
Can it carry its debts, and how well does it use its money?
KIRA · Costco has $13.7B more cash than debt.
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Costco can carry it.
In plain words: What the company owns and what it owes. More cash than debt is a cushion for bad times; a lot of debt leaves less room when business slows down.
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
| Fiscal year end | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.5x | −0.9x | −0.3x | −0.6x | −1.0x |
| Debt / equity | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.2x |
| Interest coverage | 49.3x | 50.7x | 54.9x | 67.4x | 80.6x |
| Current ratio | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.1x |
| Quick ratio | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.4x | 0.6x | 0.6x |
| Total assets | $64.2B | $69.0B | $69.8B | $77.1B | $89.0B |
| Total liabilities | $43.5B | $43.9B | $46.2B | $47.9B | $53.2B |
| Shareholders' equity | $20.6B | $25.1B | $23.6B | $29.2B | $35.8B |
| Net debt (− = net cash) | −$4.4B | −$8.8B | −$3.7B | −$8.0B | −$13.7B |
KIRA · Its return on capital was 40.7%: every 100 invested in the business earned about 41 in a year.
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
In plain words: How much profit the business makes on the money put into it. A higher percentage means each dollar invested works harder.
Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
KIRA · Costco passes 7 of 9 financial health tests (Piotroski F-score).
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak.
In plain words: Nine yes/no tests of financial health, one point each. A green tick is a pass: 7 to 9 points is solid, 0 to 3 is weak.
| Test | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations is positive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Return on assets rose | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debt fell relative to assets | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Current ratio rose | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Share count didn't rise | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Gross margin rose | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| F-score | 6 / 9 | 8 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −5.7% | −7.1% | −7.9% |
| Altman Z'' | 2.14 | 2.61 | 2.83 |
What does the share cost, and how does it compare?
KIRA · At $1,005.16 a share, the company is worth $446.7B.
Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets — the answer depends entirely on what you put in.
In plain words: Move the sliders to try your own guesses about growth. The result is what one share would be worth if those guesses came true. Different guesses give very different answers.
Value per share
—
Adds net cash of $13.7B and divides by 444.4M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.
Value per share
—
Reference multiples: today 48.3x · peers 20.0x · sector 24.2x.
KIRA · Costco grew sales faster than 2 of its 3 similar companies.
Each company’s latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don’t line up exactly.
In plain words: The same numbers for similar companies, so you can tell whether a figure is high or low for this kind of business.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costco COST | $446.7B | 10.1% | 3.9% | 3.1% | 40.7% | — | 7 | |
| Walmart WMT | $959.7B | 4.7% | 4.2% | 2.1% | 16.1% | 43.4x | 7 | Compare → |
| Target TGT | $67.8B | −1.7% | 4.9% | 2.7% | 15.0% | 15.4x | 6 | Compare → |
| Amazon AMZN | $2.72T | 12.4% | 11.2% | 1.1% | 20.6% | 20.0x | 6 | Compare → |
Every number, year by year.
Amounts in USD. Hover a ratio’s name for its definition.
In plain words: Every number we have, year by year. Download it as a spreadsheet if you want to dig deeper.
| Fiscal year | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $129.0B | $141.6B | $152.7B | $166.8B | $195.9B | $227.0B | $242.3B | $254.5B | $275.2B | $303.2B |
| Gross profit | $17.1B | $18.4B | $16.5B | $21.8B | $25.2B | $27.6B | $29.7B | $32.1B | $35.3B | $38.9B |
| Operating income | $4.1B | $4.5B | $4.7B | $5.4B | $6.7B | $7.8B | $8.1B | $9.3B | $10.4B | $11.7B |
| Interest expense | $134M | $159M | $150M | $160M | $171M | $158M | $160M | $169M | $154M | $145M |
| Pretax income | $4.0B | $4.4B | $4.8B | $5.4B | $6.7B | $7.8B | $8.5B | $9.7B | $10.8B | $12.3B |
| Income tax | $1.3B | $1.3B | $1.1B | $1.3B | $1.6B | $1.9B | $2.2B | $2.4B | $2.7B | $3.0B |
| Net income | $2.7B | $3.1B | $3.7B | $4.0B | $5.0B | $5.8B | $6.3B | $7.4B | $8.1B | $9.2B |
| Diluted EPS | $6.08 | $7.09 | $8.26 | $9.02 | $11.27 | $13.14 | $14.16 | $16.56 | $18.21 | $20.76 |
| Diluted shares | 0.44B | 0.44B | 0.44B | 0.44B | 0.44B | 0.44B | 0.44B | 0.44B | 0.44B | 0.44B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $6.7B | $5.8B | $6.4B | $8.9B | $9.0B | $7.4B | $11.1B | $11.3B | $13.3B | $15.8B |
| Capital expenditure | $2.5B | $3.0B | $3.0B | $2.8B | $3.6B | $3.9B | $4.3B | $4.7B | $5.5B | $6.4B |
| Free cash flow | $4.2B | $2.8B | $3.4B | $6.1B | $5.4B | $3.5B | $6.7B | $6.6B | $7.8B | $9.4B |
| Depreciation and amortization | $1.4B | $1.4B | $1.5B | $1.6B | $1.8B | $1.9B | $2.1B | $2.2B | $2.4B | $2.7B |
| Stock-based compensation | $514M | $544M | $595M | $619M | $665M | $724M | $774M | $818M | $860M | $924M |
| Acquisitions | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $1.2B | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Share buybacks | $469M | $328M | $247M | $196M | $496M | $439M | $676M | $700M | $903M | $848M |
| Dividends paid | $3.9B | $689M | $1.0B | $1.5B | $5.7B | $1.5B | $1.3B | $9.0B | $2.2B | $2.5B |
| Dividends and buybacks | $4.4B | $1.0B | $1.3B | $1.7B | $6.2B | $1.9B | $1.9B | $9.7B | $3.1B | $3.3B |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $5.8B | $7.3B | $9.4B | $13.3B | $12.2B | $11.0B | $15.2B | $11.1B | $15.3B | $21.3B |
| Total debt | $6.7B | $6.6B | $6.9B | $7.7B | $7.6B | $6.6B | $6.5B | $5.9B | $5.8B | $6.2B |
| Finance lease liabilities | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $688M | $1.1B | — | $0.0M | $1.5B | $1.5B | $1.4B |
| Current assets | $17.3B | $20.3B | $23.5B | $28.1B | $29.5B | $32.7B | $35.9B | $34.2B | $38.4B | $46.6B |
| Current liabilities | $17.5B | $19.9B | $23.2B | $24.8B | $29.4B | $32.0B | $33.6B | $35.5B | $37.1B | $44.0B |
| Inventory | $9.8B | $11.0B | $11.4B | $12.2B | $14.2B | $17.9B | $16.7B | $18.6B | $18.1B | $19.3B |
| Property and equipment, net | $18.2B | $19.7B | $20.9B | $21.8B | $23.5B | $24.6B | $26.7B | $29.0B | $31.9B | $35.6B |
| Total assets | $36.3B | $40.8B | $45.4B | $55.6B | $59.3B | $64.2B | $69.0B | $69.8B | $77.1B | $89.0B |
| Total liabilities | $25.3B | $27.7B | $29.8B | $36.9B | $41.2B | $43.5B | $43.9B | $46.2B | $47.9B | $53.2B |
| Shareholders' equity | $10.8B | $12.8B | $15.2B | $18.3B | $17.6B | $20.6B | $25.1B | $23.6B | $29.2B | $35.8B |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 13.3% | 13.0% | 10.8% | 13.1% | 12.9% | 12.2% | 12.3% | 12.6% | 12.8% | 12.8% |
| Operating margin | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.4% | 3.4% | 3.7% | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| EBITDA margin | 4.3% | 4.2% | 4.1% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 4.2% | 4.5% | 4.7% | 4.7% |
| Net margin | 2.1% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 3.0% |
| FCF margin | 3.3% | 2.0% | 2.2% | 3.6% | 2.7% | 1.5% | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 3.1% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 22.4% | 26.3% | 28.9% | 30.8% | 36.1% | 38.2% | 37.0% | 38.9% | 37.9% | 40.7% |
| Return on capital employed | 22.6% | 22.5% | 22.0% | 20.6% | 22.2% | 25.1% | 24.0% | 26.6% | 27.9% | 27.5% |
| Return on equity | 23.4% | 26.6% | 26.1% | 23.9% | 27.9% | 30.6% | 27.5% | 30.3% | 30.7% | 28.4% |
| Return on assets | 7.7% | 8.1% | 8.5% | 7.9% | 8.7% | 9.5% | 9.5% | 10.6% | 11.0% | 11.1% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | 8.7% | 9.7% | 7.9% | 9.2% | 17.5% | 15.8% | 6.8% | 5.0% | 8.2% | 10.1% |
| Net income growth | 14.0% | 17.0% | 16.8% | 9.4% | 25.1% | 16.7% | 7.7% | 17.1% | 9.9% | 13.9% |
| EPS growth | 14.1% | 16.6% | 16.5% | 9.2% | 24.9% | 16.6% | 7.8% | 17.0% | 10.0% | 14.0% |
| FCF growth | 556.9% | −33.6% | 19.7% | 80.2% | −11.3% | −34.8% | 92.7% | −1.7% | 18.2% | 19.7% |
| Share count change | −0.1% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | −0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | −0.1% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.2x | −0.1x | −0.4x | −0.7x | −0.4x | −0.5x | −0.9x | −0.3x | −0.6x | −1.0x |
| Debt / equity | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.3x | 0.2x |
| Interest coverage | 30.7x | 28.2x | 31.6x | 34.0x | 39.2x | 49.3x | 50.7x | 54.9x | 67.4x | 80.6x |
| Current ratio | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.1x |
| Quick ratio | 0.4x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.4x | 0.6x | 0.6x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 1.9% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 2.1% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Payouts / FCF | 103.5% | 36.3% | 38.3% | 27.7% | 116.3% | 55.3% | 28.6% | 147.0% | 39.4% | 35.2% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | 7.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 |
| Altman Z'' | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Accruals ratio | −11.6% | −6.8% | −6.3% | −9.6% | −6.9% | −2.5% | −7.2% | −5.7% | −7.1% | −7.9% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000909832). Data updated October 9, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.
