— Know what they know.
/
Not Investment Advice

COST

NASDAQ · USD
Costco Wholesale Corporation
Consumer Defensive · Discount Stores
CEO Ron Vachris Employees 355,000 R&D / revenue 0.0%
Last price
$989.11+1.13%last session
Market cap
$438.3B
P/E (TTM)
47.6x
From 52w high
−9.8%
From 52w low
+17.2%
1-year return
+7.0%
RSI 14 · vs SMA200
72.5 · +2.4%
IS score
63.3/ 100
Factor model across 8 sub-scores, ranked against 3,010 US stocks. Describes the business, not the outlook.
Download full factsheet (PDF)

One year, rebased to 100

COST   SPY   XLP (sector ETF) · weekly closes
100110Jan 26Apr 26Jul 26Oct 26SPY 116XLP 111COST 107

Score DNA

Each bar is a 0-100 score within the scored universe
40
Profitability
59
Growth
30
Value
84
Momentum
100
Risk (safety)
78
Quality
85
Balance sheet
83
Earnings quality

Flags

Strengths
✓ Piotroski 8+✓ Net cash✓ Congress buying
Warnings
None of the computed warning flags fires for COST (Altman, Beneish, accruals, FCF, dilution).
Observations
Moat model: Weak, Efficient ScalePiotroski 8 / 9Altman Z 9.1Beta 0.853 of 4 smart-money sources active

Smart-money strip

Each disclosure source on its own window. Filings coinciding is not coordination.
INSForm 4 · 180 days
Insider open-market buys
0
4 open-market sales, $4.6M
Form 144 notices (12m): 16, $19.5M proposed, not confirmed sales
CONGSTOCK Act · 180 days
Congressional purchases
5
Last disclosed purchase 2026-09-25
Members disclose in ranges, 30-45 days after the trade
13F13F · quarter to 2026-06-30
Net change in institutional holders
−6
203 new holders, 155 closed
4,225 filers hold 73.4% · 1,728 added, 1,714 trimmed
ETFETF holdings · 30 days
Net funds accumulating
+338
1,768 funds adding shares
1,430 funds trimming · counts of funds, not dollars
DARKFINRA · daily
Short-sale share of off-exchange volume
40.5%
20-day avg 45.0%, 50-day avg 43.6%
Latest 4.5 pp under its 20-day average · a flow, not short interest

Key financials · FY2026

USD, fiscal year. Stock-based compensation is non-cash; shown against FCF.
Income statement
Revenue$303.2B
Revenue growth YoY+10.1%
Gross margin12.8%
Operating income$11.7B
Operating margin3.9%
Net income$9.2B
Net margin3.0%
EPS (diluted)$20.76
Cash flow
Operating cash flow$15.8B
Capital expenditure$6.4B
Free cash flow$9.4B
FCF conversion (FCF / OCF)59.3%
Stock-based compensation$924.0M
FCF less SBC$8.5B
Buybacks$848.0M
Dividends$2.5B
Balance sheet & returns
Cash & short-term investments$21.3B
Total debt$6.2B
Net cash$15.1B
Shareholders' equity$35.8B
Goodwill & intangibles$0
Debt / equity0.24
ROE (TTM)28.0%
ROIC (TTM)18.6%
Operating margin by fiscal year
3.4%FY20223.3%FY20233.6%FY20243.8%FY20253.9%FY2026
Revenue $227.0B (FY2022) to $303.2B (FY2026), a 7.5% CAGR.

Valuation

P/E (TTM)47.6x
EV / EBITDA29.7x
Price / sales1.45x
Price / FCF46.7x
FCF yield2.14%
Buyback yield0.19%
SBC / revenue0.3%
Price / book12.27x
Forward P/E FY202743.4x
Forward multiples divide today's price by Street EPS estimates. Street mean target $1,104.70 across 10 analysts last quarter is theirs, not ours.

COST vs industry median

18 companies in Discount Stores
Gross margin 12.8% 28.8% Operating margin 3.9% 5.9% Net margin 3.0% 3.3% ROIC 18.6% 14.2%
COST (TTM)Industry median Asset turnover 3.40 vs industry 1.99 · financial leverage 2.49

Earnings delivery

Next report 2026-12-10 · consensus EPS $4.93
83%
beat rate, 10 of 12 quarters
+1.3%
median EPS surprise
5
longest beat streak
+5+8+2+1+1-2+1+1+2+1-0+3
EPS surprise in % vs the consensus at the time, oldest (left) to newest, 2023-12-14 to 2026-09-24. Bars cap at ±60%.

Peers

Market-cap band, not the industry cohort above
CompanyMkt capP/EROENet marginRev growth12m return
COST Costco Wholesale Corporation $438.3B47.6x28.0%3.0%+10.1% +7.0%
WMT Walmart Inc. $945.5B42.9x23.4%3.4%+6.2% +11.8%
TGT Target Corporation $70.1B15.9x26.4%7.1%+2.0% +78.2%
KO The Coca-Cola Company $404.0B28.2x44.2%33.1%+6.5% +39.8%
PG The Procter & Gamble Company $370.0B23.6x30.2%14.1%+3.3% +9.6%
PM Philip Morris International $319.8B29.5x-105.8%25.2%+9.1% —
PEP PepsiCo, Inc. $179.2B16.5x52.3%12.1%+6.4% —
BUD Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV $163.3B14.0x18.6%19.8%+2.9% —
12-month window: SPY +15.9%, sector ETF XLP +11.4%. Past returns describe history only.

Recent 8-K filings

2026-10-16Officer/Director Change; Exhibits
2026-10-14Other Events; Exhibits
2026-09-24Earnings Release; Exhibits
2026-07-08Other Events; Exhibits
2026-05-28Earnings Release; Exhibits
2026-04-15Other Events; Exhibits

Context

Shares outstanding443,129,349
Free float99.8%
Institutional ownership73.4%
Beta0.85
Dividend yield0.56%
Last dividend$1.47 on 2026-10-30
50 / 200-day average$932.99 / $965.50
Mega-cap Consumer Defensive median P/E31.3x

Full factsheet

The PDF carries everything on this page plus the cash-allocation waterfall, Form 144 notices, 13F holder detail, dark-pool and short-flow history, seasonality and the moat assessment (Weak).

Read it in the browser Download (PDF)

All fundamentals · 140 measures in 13 categories

Percentile = where COST sits among 8 scored companies in Discount Stores (0 = lowest value, 100 = highest). It is a position, not a grade.
ValuationProfitability (TTM)Returns on capitalGrowthMargin history & stabilityLiquidity (latest quarter)Leverage & solvency (latest quarter)EfficiencyCash flow & earnings qualityDividends & buybacksScores & forensic checksPer shareSize (TTM)

Valuation

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
P/E (TTM) 47.5x 21.1x
100th		 20.0x
PEG (P/E ÷ 3-yr EPS CAGR) 3.49 2.53
100th		 1.14
Price / sales 1.4x 1.0x
86th		 1.1x
Price / book 12.2x 4.9x
100th		 2.5x
Price / tangible book 11.7x 7.8x
86th		 4.0x
Price / free cash flow 46.7x 30.2x
71st		 14.7x
Price / operating cash flow 27.7x 14.0x
100th		 9.4x
Enterprise value $425.6B $36.8B
86th		 $5.1B
EV / sales 1.4x 1.2x
71st		 1.3x
EV / EBITDA 29.6x 13.9x
100th		 12.3x
EV / EBIT 36.4x 18.1x
100th		 16.5x
EV / free cash flow 45.3x 35.2x
71st		 18.2x
Earnings yield 2.1% 4.8%
0th		 3.9%
FCF yield 2.1% 3.4%
29th		 6.5%
Operating cash flow yield 3.6% 7.4%
0th		 10.4%
Graham number (per share) $194.01 $66.00
100th		 $35.68

Profitability (TTM)

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
Gross margin 12.8% 27.3%
0th		 34.4%
EBITDA margin 4.7% 7.2%
0th		 10.7%
Operating margin 3.9% 5.1%
0th		 7.6%
EBIT margin 3.9% 4.9%
14th		 6.9%
Net margin 3.0% 3.5%
43rd		 3.3%
NOPAT margin 2.9% 3.8%
14th		 4.8%
FCF margin 3.1% 3.7%
43rd		 7.6%
Operating cash flow margin 5.2% 7.0%
29th		 11.1%
R&D / revenue 0.0% 0.0%
0th		 0.0%
SG&A / revenue 9.0% 21.0%
0th		 21.1%
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.3%
71st		 0.5%
Effective tax rate 24.7% 24.6%
71st		 23.2%

Returns on capital

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
ROE (on average equity) 28.4% 24.9%
86th		 10.4%
ROA 11.1% 7.8%
86th		 4.9%
ROIC 38.1% 14.2%
100th		 8.2%
ROCE 25.9% 16.2%
100th		 9.1%
Return on tangible assets 14.1% 11.3%
86th		 7.2%
Cash ROIC (OCF / invested capital) 68.6% 24.6%
100th		 15.0%
Gross profitability (GP / assets) 43.7% 47.6%
43rd		 32.4%
ROIC, 3-yr average 40.2% 10.3%
100th		 6.4%
ROIC, 5-yr average 51.0% 12.3%
100th		 7.8%
ROE, 5-yr average 27.6% 22.5%
71st		 11.4%
Incremental ROIC 38.3% 49.8%
33rd		 12.8%

Growth

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
Revenue growth (TTM YoY) 10.1% 7.6%
71st		 3.8%
Revenue growth (QoQ) 35.7% 5.2%
100th		 4.3%
Revenue CAGR, 3 yr 7.8% 5.4%
71st		 3.8%
Revenue CAGR, 5 yr 9.1% 6.6%
71st		 5.1%
Gross profit CAGR, 3 yr 9.4% 6.8%
71st		 4.0%
Operating income CAGR, 3 yr 12.9% 9.4%
71st		 4.3%
Net income growth (TTM YoY) 13.9% 11.8%
67th		 5.6%
Net income CAGR, 3 yr 13.6% 10.2%
71st		 5.4%
EPS growth (TTM YoY) 14.0% 11.6%
67th		 4.7%
EPS CAGR, 3 yr 13.6% 12.4%
57th		 6.8%
EPS CAGR, 5 yr 13.0% 8.9%
86th		 4.1%
FCF growth (TTM YoY) 19.8% 23.8%
43rd		 23.4%
FCF CAGR, 3 yr 11.7% 18.5%
29th		 14.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR, 3 yr 12.7% 13.3%
43rd		 6.4%
Book value CAGR, 3 yr 12.6% 12.0%
57th		 5.3%
Dividend CAGR, 3 yr 4.0% 3.3%
100th		 1.7%
Sustainable growth rate 20.8% 15.1%
71st		 8.3%

Margin history & stability

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
Gross margin, 3-yr average 12.8% 26.0%
0th		 34.7%
Operating margin, 3-yr average 3.8% 4.5%
0th		 6.7%
Net margin, 3-yr average 3.0% 2.9%
57th		 4.2%
FCF margin, 3-yr average 2.9% 3.4%
43rd		 6.5%
Revenue stability (0-1) 0.99 0.97
71st		 0.81
Earnings stability (0-1) 0.99 0.81
100th		 0.34
Margin stability (0-1) 0.98 0.97
71st		 0.95

Liquidity (latest quarter)

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
Cash & short-term investments $21.3B $1.3B
100th		 $279.3M
Net cash (− = net debt) $12.7B −$4.7B
100th		 −$1.0B
Working capital $2.6B $313.1M
100th		 $285.9M
Current ratio 1.06 1.10
43rd		 1.43
Quick ratio 0.62 0.38
100th		 0.86
Cash ratio (cash + ST investments / current liabilities) 0.48 0.29
100th		 0.28
Defensive interval (days) 339 days 73 days
100th		 251 days

Leverage & solvency (latest quarter)

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
Total debt $8.6B $8.1B
57th		 $1.8B
Debt / equity 0.24 0.90
14th		 0.75
Net debt / equity −0.36 0.69
0th		 0.55
Debt / assets 9.6% 27.8%
0th		 31.6%
Debt / capital 19.3% 47.0%
14th		 43.0%
Debt / EBITDA 0.60 1.87
0th		 2.69
Net debt / EBITDA −0.89 1.38
0th		 2.14
Interest coverage (EBIT / interest) 80.6x 15.6x
100th		 4.7x
Cash interest coverage 109.1x 21.8x
100th		 8.2x
Debt payback (years of OCF) 0.5 yrs 2.1 yrs
0th		 2.8 yrs
Liabilities / assets 59.8% 67.7%
29th		 56.2%
IS credit model rating AAA — —
Implied credit spread (bps) 50 162
0th		 225

Efficiency

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
Asset turnover 3.65 2.10
100th		 0.94
Fixed asset turnover 7.91 3.64
100th		 4.44
Inventory turnover 14.1 6.9
100th		 6.0
Receivables turnover 84.7 180.8
40th		 12.1
Days sales outstanding 4 days 1 days
71st		 30 days
Days inventory outstanding 26 days 54 days
0th		 61 days
Days payables outstanding 29 days 41 days
14th		 38 days
Cash conversion cycle (days) 1 days 8 days
0th		 37 days
Capex / revenue 2.1% 3.8%
0th		 3.1%
Capex / depreciation 2.41 1.97
86th		 0.92
Operating expense ratio 8.8% 22.6%
0th		 24.8%

Cash flow & earnings quality

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
Operating cash flow / net income 1.72 1.86
14th		 1.87
FCF / net income 1.02 0.92
57th		 1.28
FCF / operating cash flow 59.3% 55.8%
57th		 71.9%
Capex / operating cash flow 40.7% 44.2%
43rd		 29.5%
Accruals ratio -7.9% -7.3%
29th		 -6.1%
Sloan accruals ratio -1.6% -4.9%
100th		 -3.9%
Earnings quality score (0-1) 0.75 0.75
0th		 0.75

Dividends & buybacks

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.7%
43rd		 1.8%
Dividend per share (TTM) $5.54 $1.19
100th		 $0.64
Payout ratio (dividends / net income) 26.6% 26.3%
57th		 32.1%
Dividends / FCF 26.2% 22.7%
57th		 27.4%
Dividend growth (YoY) 12.7% 8.8%
100th		 1.8%
Buyback yield 0.2% 0.7%
29th		 0.9%
Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) 0.8% 2.5%
0th		 3.6%
Share count change (YoY) -0.1% -0.3%
57th		 -0.2%
Buybacks, last 5 years $4.5B $2.4B
71st		 $184.1M

Scores & forensic checks

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
IS score 63 59
86th		 53
IS profitability 40 40
43rd		 32
IS growth 59 54
71st		 50
IS value 30 46
0th		 49
IS momentum 84 81
71st		 73
IS risk (safety) 100 100
43rd		 80
IS quality 78 70
86th		 65
IS balance sheet 85 62
100th		 53
IS earnings quality 83 84
14th		 76
IS cash flow 65 55
100th		 57
Piotroski F-score (0-9) 8 6
86th		 6
Altman Z-score 9.1 4.7
100th		 3.2
Beneish M-score −2.62 −2.80
86th		 −2.71
Ohlson O-score −8.77 −7.80
14th		 −7.61
IS credit score 97 71
100th		 64

Per share

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
EPS, diluted (TTM) $20.76 $6.46
100th		 $2.03
Book value per share $80.57 $35.27
100th		 $16.28
Tangible book per share $80.64 $18.65
100th		 $3.52
Revenue per share $682.22 $183.30
100th		 $41.08
FCF per share $21.13 $6.71
100th		 $3.18
Operating cash flow per share $35.61 $12.37
100th		 $4.93
Cash per share $47.94 $6.36
100th		 $2.81

Size (TTM)

MeasureCOSTIndustry medianIndustry percentileSector median
Market cap $438.3B $26.5B
86th		 $4.0B
Revenue $303.2B $33.2B
86th		 $5.2B
EBITDA $14.4B $3.2B
86th		 $426.9M
Net income $9.2B $1.7B
86th		 $167.0M
Free cash flow $9.4B $2.3B
86th		 $345.6M
Total assets $89.0B $23.1B
86th		 $4.8B
Shareholders' equity $35.8B $6.4B
86th		 $1.6B
Employees 355,000 172,000
71st		 9,700

Insider transactions, last 6 months

Form 4 · most recent 12
DateInsiderTypeSharesPriceValueOwned after
2026-10-13Wilcox William Richard
Executive Vice President
 Open-market sale 1,100$958.21$1.1M3,094
2026-09-29Frates Caton
Sr. Executive Vice President
 Open-market sale 801$915.93$733,3287,912
2026-09-29Adamo Claudine
Executive Vice President
 Open-market sale 2,200$915.93$2.0M7,134
2026-09-10Wilcox William Richard
Executive Vice President
 Award / grant 4,129——6,129
2026-09-10Wilcox William Richard
Executive Vice President
 Tax withholding 1,935$902.38$1.7M4,194
2026-09-10Rubanenko Yoram
Executive Vice President
 Award / grant 4,129——12,376
2026-09-10Rubanenko Yoram
Executive Vice President
 Tax withholding 1,696$902.38$1.5M10,680
2026-09-10Riel Pierre
Executive Vice President
 Award / grant 4,552——15,808
2026-09-10Riel Pierre
Executive Vice President
 Tax withholding 1,562$902.38$1.4M14,246
2026-09-10Klauer James C
Executive Vice President
 Award / grant 4,129——48,966
2026-09-10Klauer James C
Executive Vice President
 Tax withholding 936$902.38$844,73148,030
2026-09-10Jones Teresa A.
Executive Vice President
 Award / grant 4,129——8,057

Shares acquired vs disposed, by month

acquired disposed · all Form 4 types
MarAprJunJulAugSepOct

By transaction type, 6 months

TypeDirectionFilingsSharesValue
Award / grantAcquired729,749—
GiftDisposed15,249—
Open-market saleDisposed44,986$4.6M
Tax withholdingDisposed710,158$9.2M
—Disposed20—
Awards, option exercises and tax withholding are compensation mechanics; open-market buys and sales are the discretionary ones.

Form 144 notices

12 months: 16 notices · 20,943 shares · $19.5M
FiledFilerShares proposedEst. proceeds
2026-10-13Wilcox William Richard1,100$1.1M
2026-09-29Frates Caton801$733,328
2026-09-29Adamo Claudine2,200$2.0M
2026-06-23Denman Kenneth D885$847,346
A Form 144 is notice of a proposed sale, not a confirmed one.

Congress trades

12 months: House 18 trades (11 purchases) · Senate 2 (2 purchases)
TradedMemberChamberTypeAmountDisclosed
2026-09-25Ro KhannaHousePurchase$1,001 - $15,0002026-10-09
2026-09-18Rick AllenHouseSale$1,001 - $15,0002026-10-15
2026-09-11Ro KhannaHousePurchase$1,001 - $15,0002026-10-09
2026-09-04Ro KhannaHouseSale$15,001 - $50,0002026-10-09
2025-12-29Markwayne MullinSenatePurchase$15,001 - $50,0002026-01-16
2025-12-29Markwayne MullinSenatePurchase$15,001 - $50,0002026-01-15
2025-10-17Shelley Moore CapitoSenateSale (Partial)$1,001 - $15,0002025-11-04
2025-10-17Shelley Moore CapitoSenateSale$1,001 - $15,0002025-11-04
STOCK Act disclosures, in ranges, filed up to 45 days after the trade.

Largest 13F holders

Quarter to 2026-06-30, the latest most managers have filed
ManagerSharesValue% of shares out
BlackRock, Inc.34,202,834$32.0B7.72%
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC28,976,605$27.1B6.54%
STATE STREET CORP18,384,951$17.2B4.15%
Invesco Ltd.13,989,137$13.1B3.16%
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC10,627,472$9.9B2.40%
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC10,402,555$9.7B2.35%
BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/7,249,774$6.8B1.64%
NORGES BANK6,474,767$6.1B1.46%
FMR LLC6,163,541$5.8B1.39%
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA4,124,055$3.9B0.93%
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO3,836,169$3.6B0.87%
NORTHERN TRUST CORP3,521,071$3.3B0.79%
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC3,293,734$3.1B0.74%
Fisher Asset Management, LLC3,253,040$3.0B0.73%
Bank of New York Mellon Corp3,129,284$2.9B0.71%

Institutional ownership by quarter

2023-092026-0673.4%
% of shares held by 13F filers
2023-092026-064,225
Number of 13F filers holding

Holder changes by quarter

QuarterHoldersOwnershipNewIncreasedReducedClosed
2026-06-304,22573.4%2031,7281,714155
2026-03-314,23170.9%3271,7831,613121
2025-12-314,09570.1%4551,5461,629166
2025-09-303,88866.6%1701,6451,561170
2025-06-303,96268.6%2111,7331,48896
2025-03-313,90668.4%2111,5951,650121
2024-12-313,88968.6%5111,4851,43187
2024-09-303,53769.4%1971,4571,42084
2024-06-303,46868.4%2371,4181,36793
2024-03-313,36968.4%2281,4161,315101
2023-12-313,29268.2%4111,3231,18882
2023-09-303,02367.5%1671,2201,15689

Schedule 13D / 13G filers

FiledFormFiler% of classShares
2026-04-29SCHEDULE 13GVanguard Capital Management7.5%33,256,639
2026-03-26SCHEDULE 13G/AThe Vanguard Group0.0%0
Required above 5% of a class; 13G is the passive form.

ETFs with the largest holding

ETFWeight in fundHolding value
VITSX0.55%$12.8B
VSMPX0.55%$12.8B
VTI0.55%$12.8B
VTSAX0.55%$12.8B
VFFSX0.61%$10.6B
VOO0.61%$10.6B

Share structure

Shares outstanding443,129,349
Float442,238,659
Free float99.8%

Income statement

Fiscal years, USD
FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026
Revenue$227.0B$242.3B$254.5B$275.2B$303.2B
Cost of revenue$199.4B$212.6B$222.4B$239.9B$264.3B
Gross profit$27.6B$29.7B$32.1B$35.3B$38.9B
R&D$0$0$0$0$0
SG&A$19.8B$21.6B$22.8B$25.0B$27.2B
Operating income$7.8B$8.1B$9.3B$10.4B$11.7B
EBITDA$10.3B$11.1B$12.1B$13.4B$14.4B
Pretax income$7.8B$8.5B$9.7B$10.8B$12.3B
Income tax$1.9B$2.2B$2.4B$2.7B$3.0B
Net income$5.8B$6.3B$7.4B$8.1B$9.2B
EPS, diluted$13.14$14.16$16.56$18.21$20.76
Diluted shares444.8M444.5M444.8M444.8M444.4M

Balance sheet

FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026
Cash & short-term investments$11.0B$15.2B$11.1B$15.3B$21.3B
Receivables$2.2B$2.3B$2.7B$3.2B$4.0B
Inventory$17.9B$16.7B$18.6B$18.1B$19.3B
Total current assets$32.7B$35.9B$34.2B$38.4B$46.6B
PP&E, net$27.4B$29.4B$31.6B$34.6B$38.3B
Goodwill & intangibles$993.0M$994.0M$994.0M$994.0M$0
Total assets$64.2B$69.0B$69.8B$77.1B$89.0B
Accounts payable$17.8B$17.5B$19.4B$19.8B$22.6B
Total current liabilities$32.0B$33.6B$35.5B$37.1B$44.0B
Long-term debt$6.5B$5.4B$5.8B$5.7B$3.9B
Total liabilities$43.5B$43.9B$46.2B$47.9B$53.2B
Shareholders' equity$20.6B$25.1B$23.6B$29.2B$35.8B

Cash flow statement

Outflows are negative
FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026
Net income$5.9B$6.3B$7.4B$8.1B$9.2B
Depreciation & amortization$1.9B$2.1B$2.2B$2.4B$2.7B
Stock-based compensation$724.0M$774.0M$818.0M$860.0M$924.0M
Change in working capital−$1.6B$1.0B$611.0M$1.8B$2.3B
Operating cash flow$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
Investing cash flow−$4.8B−$5.0B−$4.4B−$5.3B−$6.4B
Net debt issued / repaid−$800.0M−$384.0M−$708.0M−$296.0M$312.0M
Buybacks−$439.0M−$676.0M−$700.0M−$903.0M−$848.0M
Dividends paid−$1.5B−$1.3B−$9.0B−$2.2B−$2.5B

Ratio history

Margins on the fiscal-year (TTM at Q4) basis; multiples at each year end
FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026
Gross margin12.1%12.3%12.6%12.8%12.8%
Operating margin3.4%3.3%3.6%3.8%3.9%
Net margin2.6%2.6%2.9%2.9%3.0%
FCF margin1.5%2.8%2.6%2.8%3.1%
ROE30.6%27.5%30.3%30.7%28.4%
ROIC31.6%32.2%33.8%35.2%38.1%
ROA9.5%9.5%10.6%11.0%11.1%
Debt / equity0.440.350.350.280.24
Interest coverage50.6x54.0x58.6x69.6x80.6x
Current ratio1.021.070.971.031.06
Revenue growth+15.8%+6.8%+5.0%+8.2%+10.1%
EPS growth+16.6%+7.7%+16.9%+10.0%+14.0%
P/E at year end38.1x37.5x53.6x51.7x45.5x
EV / EBITDA at year end21.7x21.0x32.2x34.2x28.4x
FCF yield at year end1.57%2.86%1.68%1.87%2.24%
Dividend payout25.6%19.9%122.7%27.0%26.6%

Revenue by segment

FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026
Food and Sundries$85.6B$96.2B$101.5B$109.6B$116.8B
Non-Foods$61.1B$60.9B$64.0B$71.2B$77.4B
Other$46.5B$48.7B$50.0B$51.2B$61.4B
Fresh Food$29.5B$32.0B$34.2B$38.0B$41.7B
Membership$4.2B$4.6B$4.8B$5.3B$5.9B

Revenue by region · FY2026

UNITED STATES$219.8B · 73%
Other International Operations$42.8B · 14%
CANADA$40.6B · 13%

Street estimates by fiscal year

Next report 2026-12-10 · consensus EPS $4.93 · these are analysts' numbers, not ours
Fiscal yearRevenue (mean)Revenue rangeEPS (mean)EPS rangeAnalystsP/E on mean EPS
2026$302.3B$299.3B – $303.8B$20.50$20.27 – $20.682448.2x
2026$302.3B$299.3B – $303.8B$20.50$20.27 – $20.682448.2x
2027$329.2B$324.1B – $336.5B$22.80$21.90 – $23.412643.4x

Reported vs expected, every quarter on file

ReportedEPS expectedEPS actualEPS surpriseRevenue expectedRevenue actualRevenue surprise
2026-09-24$6.54$6.75+3.2%$95.0B$93.9B−1.2%
2026-05-28$4.94$4.93−0.2%$70.1B$70.5B+0.6%
2026-03-05$4.55$4.58+0.7%$69.3B$69.6B+0.4%
2025-12-11$4.27$4.34+1.6%$67.1B$67.3B+0.2%
2025-09-25$5.80$5.87+1.2%$86.0B$86.2B+0.2%
2025-05-29$4.24$4.28+0.9%$63.1B$63.2B+0.1%
2025-03-06$4.09$4.02−1.7%$63.1B$63.7B+1.0%
2024-12-12$3.79$3.82+0.8%$62.0B$62.2B+0.2%
2024-09-26$5.08$5.15+1.4%$79.9B$79.7B−0.3%
2024-05-30$3.70$3.78+2.2%$58.0B$58.5B+0.8%
2024-03-07$3.62$3.92+8.3%$59.1B$58.4B−1.1%
2023-12-14$3.42$3.58+4.7%$57.7B$57.8B+0.2%
2023-09-26$4.79$4.86+1.5%$77.9B$78.9B+1.4%
2023-05-25$3.29$2.93−10.9%$78.0B$53.6B−31.2%
2023-03-02$3.21$3.30+2.8%$55.6B$55.3B−0.6%
2022-12-08$3.11$3.10−0.3%$58.4B$54.4B−6.7%
2022-09-22$4.17$4.20+0.7%$70.8B$72.1B+1.8%
2022-05-26$3.03$3.17+4.6%—$52.6B—
2022-03-03$2.74$2.92+6.6%$51.5B$51.9B+0.7%
2021-12-09$2.64$2.98+12.9%$49.7B$50.4B+1.4%
2021-09-23$3.57$3.90+9.2%$61.4B$62.7B+2.1%
2021-05-27$2.34$2.75+17.5%$37.3B$45.3B+21.2%
2021-03-04$2.45$2.14−12.7%$50.4B$44.8B−11.2%
2020-12-10$2.05$2.30+12.2%$37.9B$43.2B+14.0%

Off-exchange (dark pool) volume, weekly

FINRA ATS, $ billions · through the week of 2026-08-31 (FINRA publishes with a delay)
1.406-152.406-222.006-292.507-062.007-131.707-202.007-271.608-031.408-101.808-171.408-241.808-31
Week ofNotionalSharesTrades
2026-08-31$1.8B1,968,704102,265
2026-08-24$1.4B1,486,85387,338
2026-08-17$1.8B1,926,47794,585
2026-08-10$1.4B1,433,24880,893
2026-08-03$1.6B1,739,59193,835
2026-07-27$2.0B2,104,732105,809

Short-sale share of off-exchange volume

daily 20-day average
07-2310-1540.5%
DateShort shareShort volumeTotal volume
2026-10-1540.5%478,9721,182,336
2026-10-1443.0%504,1101,171,199
2026-10-1344.1%206,178467,184
2026-10-1244.2%259,102586,009
2026-10-0934.0%193,858569,684
2026-10-0840.8%372,191912,753
2026-10-0748.6%366,185753,596
2026-10-0643.5%284,389653,531
2026-10-0543.6%329,703756,168
2026-10-0242.0%299,864713,749
A daily flow measure from FINRA, not short interest.

Seasonality

Average return by calendar month
+0.5Jan+0.8Feb+1.3Mar+1.7Apr+0.8May+1.0Jun+2.1Jul+1.3Aug+1.5Sep+1.6Oct+4.6Nov+0.0Dec
MonthAvg returnUp yearsYears
Jan+0.5%55%20
Feb+0.8%55%20
Mar+1.3%52%21
Apr+1.7%70%20
May+0.8%55%20
Jun+1.0%55%20
Jul+2.1%65%20
Aug+1.3%55%20
Sep+1.5%65%20
Oct+1.6%50%20
Nov+4.6%85%20
Dec+0.0%50%20
History, not a forecast.

Indicators

as of 2026-10-16
RSI 1472.5
MFI64.3
ADX26.4
Stochastic %K / %D84.0 / 88.1
Williams %R-18.4
CCI152
TSI / signal27.0 / 8.5
Chaikin money flow0.25
ATR$16.49
Bollinger width11.8%
Volume vs 20-day avg1.04x
SupertrendUp

Moving averages and bands

level (price vs level)
SMA 20$933.74 (+5.9%)
SMA 50$933.79 (+5.9%)
SMA 200$965.85 (+2.4%)
EMA 21$943.61 (+4.8%)
EMA 50$937.83 (+5.5%)
EMA 200$951.51 (+4.0%)
Bollinger upper$988.61 (+0.1%)
Bollinger lower$878.87 (+12.5%)
Parabolic SAR$938.42 (+5.4%)
Open the live chart, 110+ indicators

About Costco Wholesale Corporation

Costco Wholesale Corporation, alongside its group entities, operates membership-based retail warehouses across a broad international scope, spanning the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. These outlets provide customers with an extensive array of both well-known branded and proprietary private-label products. Their vast inventory includes household staples, shelf-stable groceries, confectionery, chilled and frozen items, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and deli selections. Furthermore, the stores stock major appliances, consumer electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, garden and patio furniture, sporting goods, vehicle tires, toys, seasonal merchandise, office supplies, automotive maintenance products, postage services, event tickets, apparel, small kitchen appliances, home furnishings, domestic textiles, kitchenware, custom-order kiosks, and fine jewelry. Fresh departments offer meat, produce, a service deli, and bakery items. Beyond retail goods, Costco provides in-store amenities such as pharmacies, optical clinics, food courts, hearing aid centers, and tire installation facilities, in addition to managing 636 gas stations. The company also extends its offerings online through business delivery, travel booking, and same-day grocery fulfillment in various countries. As of August 29, 2021, Costco maintained a global network of 815 membership warehouses, with 564 located in the United States and Puerto Rico, 105 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 30 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 16 in South Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 12 in Australia, 3 in Spain, and one each in Iceland, France, and China. Digital storefronts facilitate e-commerce operations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. Founded in 1976, the enterprise was originally known as Costco Companies, Inc. before officially adopting the name Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Its corporate headquarters are situated in Issaquah, Washington.

https://www.costco.com

Key executives

NameTitlePayBorn
Javier PolitExecutive Vice President and CI&DO of Information Systems$3.8M1965
Ron VachrisPresident, Chief Executive Officer & Director$1.8M1965
Gary MillerchipExecutive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer$1.3M1972
Pierre RielExecutive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of International Division$1.2M1963
Brenda WeberSenior Vice President of Human Resources——
David SherwoodSenior Vice President of Costco Wholesale Industries & Business Development——
John SullivanExecutive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary—1960
Peter GrueningSenior Vice President of Membership, Marketing & Member Service Centers——

Executive pay, latest proxy

ExecutiveYearSalaryStock awardsIncentiveTotal
Ron M. Vachris Chief Executive Officer, President and Director2025$1.2M$12.0M$600,000$13.9M
Javier Polit Executive Vice President, Chief Information and Digital Officer2025$541,116$3.7M$184,000$7.5M
Gary Millerchip Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer2025$915,115$5.5M$184,000$6.8M
Richard A. Galanti Former Executive Vice President2025$502,079$5.3M$0$6.5M
Pierre Riel Executive Vice President, COO - International Division2025$713,654$4.1M$184,000$5.3M
Russ D. Miller Senior Executive Vice President, COO - U.S. and Mexico Operations2025$765,192$4.1M$184,000$5.2M

Employees

149k2019156k2020288k2021304k2022316k2023333k2024341k2025355k2026

Dividends

Ex-dateAmountPaid
2026-10-30$1.472026-11-13
2026-07-24$1.472026-08-07
2026-05-01$1.472026-05-15
2026-01-30$1.32026-02-13
2025-10-31$1.32025-11-14
2025-08-01$1.32025-08-15
2025-05-02$1.32025-05-16
2025-02-07$1.162025-02-21

Moat model

Weak · Efficient Scale · 2026-08-30
Cost advantage30
Intangibles26
Switching costs12
Network effect65
Efficient scale100
Our component scores (0-100) and overall 40.3; a model of the business, not a call on the stock.
InsiderStreet reports findings from filings and market data. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy or sell.Every figure is computed in code · data as of 2026-10-17

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