# Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST)

> Costco sells groceries, household goods, fuel and services through membership warehouses and online stores.

- Exchange: NASDAQ Global Select Market · Sector: Consumer Staples · Industry: Discount Stores
- Headquarters: Issaquah, Washington, United States
- Founded: 1983
- Employees: 341,000 (2025-08-31)
- SEC CIK: 0000909832 ([filings on EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000909832))
- Full page: https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/cost
- Data as of: price 2026-09-25; newest filing used 2026-06-03; latest fiscal period ended 2026-05-10

## Grade

**A** on the growth-and-cash rubric, 5 of 5 checks passed.

| Check | Result | Now | Before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Revenue growing overall | passed | $275.2B | $227B |
| Revenue growing recently | passed | $275.2B | $254.5B |
| Free cash flow positive | passed | $7.8B |  |
| Free cash flow growing overall | passed | $7.8B | $3.5B |
| Free cash flow growing recently | passed | $7.8B | $6.6B |

Business quality (the + / − mark): 3 of 6 checks passed.

| Check | Result | Now | Before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Profitable | passed | 2.9% |  |
| Healthy profit margin | failed | 2.9% |  |
| Strong operating margin | failed | 3.8% |  |
| Good return on equity | passed | 27.8% |  |
| Debt under control | passed | 0.34 |  |
| Turns sales into cash | failed | 2.8% |  |

How the grade works: the letter counts failed checks (none → A, one → B, two → C, three → D, four or more → F). It is built from SEC filings only — the share price never enters it — and describes the business, not whether the stock is worth buying.

## Key figures

In US dollars, as filed.

| Measure | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Revenue, trailing twelve months | $275.2B |
| Net income, trailing twelve months | $8.1B |
| Free cash flow, trailing twelve months | $7.8B |
| Net margin | 2.9% |
| Operating margin | 3.8% |
| Return on equity | 27.8% |
| Debt to equity | 0.34 |
| Diluted EPS, trailing twelve months | $18.21 |
| Share price | $922.77 |
| Market value | $409.2B |
| Price / earnings | 50.7x |
| Price / sales | 1.5x |

## What the business does

Customers pay an annual fee to shop at Costco warehouses and online. Costco buys many goods directly from suppliers and sells them in bulk, alongside services such as gasoline, pharmacy, optical care and travel. It also sells its Kirkland Signature private-label products.

### How it makes money

- **Foods and sundries, including groceries, candy and liquor** (37.6% (quarter ended 2026-04-30)) — Members buy these goods in warehouses and online; the reported product category includes foods and sundries.
- **Non-foods, including appliances, electronics, clothing and tires** (24.9% (quarter ended 2026-04-30)) — Revenue comes from members purchasing these goods, mainly in warehouses and also online.
- **Fresh foods, including meat, produce, deli and bakery** (13.7% (quarter ended 2026-04-30)) — Members buy fresh food in Costco warehouses.
- **Membership fees** (1.9% (quarter ended 2026-04-30)) — Members pay an annual fee for shopping privileges; Costco recognizes the fee over the one-year membership period.

### Products

- **Warehouse and online shopping memberships** — Annual memberships let individuals and businesses shop at Costco warehouses and e-commerce sites. Executive members can earn a reward on eligible purchases.
- **Foods and sundries** — Groceries and other everyday goods, including dry groceries, candy, refrigerated and frozen foods, liquor and tobacco.
- **Non-foods** — Goods such as appliances, electronics, health and beauty products, hardware, sporting goods, tires, clothing, furniture and housewares.
- **Fresh foods** — Meat, produce, deli items and bakery goods.
- **Warehouse services** — Services available at or near warehouses include gasoline, pharmacy, optical care, a food court, hearing aids and tire installation.

### Customers

- Individuals who pay for Gold Star memberships and shop in warehouses or online.
- Businesses that buy Business memberships and shop at warehouses or online.
- Food-service businesses, convenience stores and offices that shop at Costco business centers or arrange deliveries.

### Competitors

- Sam's Club (WMT) — Warehouse-club shopping; Sam's Club is a division of Walmart, whose shares trade under WMT.
- BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) — Membership warehouse shopping in the United States.
- Walmart (WMT) — General merchandise retail, groceries and online shopping.
- Amazon (AMZN) — Online retail and delivery of a wide range of goods.
- Target (TGT) — General merchandise and grocery retail.
- Kroger (KR) — Grocery retail, including food and household goods.

### What it depends on

- The business depends on members joining, renewing and continuing to shop; annual membership fees are an important source of revenue.
- The company says its financial performance depends heavily on its United States and Canadian operations.
- Costco relies on suppliers to provide quality merchandise at competitive prices and on its depots, warehouses and other distribution arrangements to move goods to members.

### What could go wrong

- Costco identifies its dependence on the financial performance of its United States and Canadian operations as a risk to its results.
- If Costco fails to maintain membership growth, member loyalty and renewals, it could affect sales and membership-fee revenue.
- Disruptions to merchandise supply, distribution or processing could prevent Costco from having goods available for sale and affect member satisfaction.

## More on this company

- [Overview](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/cost)
- [Financial statements](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/cost/financials)
- [Competitors](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/cost/peers)
- [Earnings](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/cost/earnings)

---

Source: InspectStocks, built from the company’s own SEC filings. This describes a business — it is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.