Latest revenue
$69.60B
as of 2026-02-15
Latest net income
$2.04B
as of 2026-02-15
Net margin
2.9%
as of 2026-02-15
Price · 5Y
Live market
delayed ≤15 min- Market cap
- $456.18B
- Enterprise value
- $445.56B
- P/E (trailing)
- 42.2×
- Forward P/E
- —
- P/B
- 14.22×
- Dividend yield
- 0.5%
- 52-wk high
- $1096.50
- 52-wk low
- $844.06
- Beta
- —
- Shares out
- 443.7M
5-year trend
What this company does
Costco runs a global chain of 924 membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a tightly curated mix of branded and private-label goods at thin markups to drive volume and inventory turnover. Merchandise sales generate the bulk of revenue ($134.2B over 24 weeks), but the high-margin membership fees ($2.7B) are the real profit engine, and both grew roughly 9% and 14% year-over-year. With operating income up 12% and cash climbing to $17.4B, Costco's model continues compounding while it expands cautiously abroad and recently raised its dividend.
Generated from COST's filing dated 2025-10-08
Key risks
- Margin compression risk: merchandise costs grew 8.9% YoY to $60.7B while net sales grew 9.1%, leaving gross margin gains thin amid tariff exposure.
- International FX exposure: 290 of 924 warehouses are outside the US; accumulated translation losses sit at $1.6B and swung $370M in one quarter.
- Rich valuation vulnerability: shares trade at premium multiples while diluted EPS grew only 13.9% ($4.58 vs $4.02), leaving little room for execution missteps.
Generated from COST's filing dated 2025-10-08
Profitability
Operating margin
3.8%
3.4%Net margin
3.9%
2.7%Return on equity
37.1%
10.0%Return on assets
14.0%
0.6%Leverage
Debt / equity
1.64×
16.0%Long-term debt / equity
0.20×
20.1%Debt / assets
62.2%
6.0%Earnings tracker
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY | Net income | YoY | Net margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Q1 2026 2026-02-15 | $69.60B | +9.2% | $2.04B | +13.8% | 2.9% |
Q4 2025 2025-11-23 | $67.31B | +8.3% | $2.00B | +11.3% | 3.0% |
Q3 2025 2025-08-31 | $86.16B | +8.1% | $5.33B | +12.7% | 6.2% |
Q2 2025 2025-05-11 | $63.20B | +8.0% | $1.90B | +13.2% | 3.0% |
Q1 2025 2025-02-16 | $63.72B | +9.0% | $1.79B | +2.6% | 2.8% |
Q4 2024 2024-11-24 | $62.15B | +7.5% | $1.80B | +13.2% | 2.9% |
Q3 2024 2024-09-01 | $79.70B | — | $4.73B | — | 5.9% |
Q2 2024 2024-05-12 | $58.52B | — | $1.68B | — | 2.9% |
Year-over-year change vs the same fiscal quarter one year prior. Revenue + net income sourced from SEC 10-Q / 10-K filings — no analyst-consensus dependency.
Industry trend
Retail-Variety Stores · SIC 5331
Your notes
Keep private notes on COST — thesis, target price, catalysts to watch.
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Insider activity
Insider buying
$0
Insider selling
$28.2M
Net activity
−$28.2M
Distinct insiders
12
Open-market trades over the last 365 days.
Recent transactions
Source: SEC Form 4 filings. Officers, directors, and 10%+ owners must disclose share transactions within two business days. RSU grants and tax-withholding rows are excluded by default — compensation activity is not a trading signal.
Who owns COST
Institutional value
$78.65B
Total shares held
80.6M
Distinct holders
782
As of
2026-03-31
Filers with $100M+ AUM disclose holdings 45 days after quarter end.
Top institutional holders
| # | Manager | Shares | Value | QoQ change | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC | 28.8M | $28.74B | — | New |
| 2 | VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC | 10.7M | $10.67B | — | New |
| 3 | Invesco Ltd. | 4.3M | $4.30B | — | New |
| 4 | WELLS FARGO & COMPANY/MN | 3.1M | $3.10B | — | New |
| 5 | VANGUARD FIDUCIARY TRUST CO | 2.6M | $2.55B | — | New |
| 6 | Legal & General Group Plc | 2.5M | $2.50B | — | New |
| 7 | DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP | 1.7M | $1.68B | — | New |
| 8 | Swiss National Bank | 1.3M | $1.30B | — | New |
| 9 | Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co., Ltd. | 1.1M | $1.07B | — | New |
| 10 | DEUTSCHE BANK AG\ | 1.1M | $1.07B | — | New |
| 11 | Vanguard Global Advisers, LLC | 971.1K | $967.7M | — | New |
| 12 | California Public Employees Retirement System | 941.7K | $938.3M | — | New |
| 13 | TD ASSET MANAGEMENT INC | 937.2K | $933.9M | — | New |
| 14 | National Pension Service | 933.6K | $930.2M | — | New |
| 15 | RHUMBLINE ADVISERS | 816.2K | $813.3M | — | New |
| 16 | VANGUARD ASSET MANAGEMENT, Ltd | 772.4K | $769.6M | — | New |
| 17 | STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP | 702.9K | $700.6M | — | New |
| 18 | Voya Investment Management LLC | 688.0K | $685.5M | — | New |
| 19 | PARNASSUS INVESTMENTS, LLC | 675.5K | $673.1M | — | New |
| 20 | CITIGROUP INC | 605.1K | $602.9M | — | New |
Source: SEC Form 13F-HR. Positions aggregated across sub-managers within each firm. Options (puts/calls) excluded — common stock only.
Top questions investors are asking
- 1
Merchandise costs grew 8.9% versus net sales 9.1% in Q2—why isn't the recent membership fee increase driving more visible gross margin leverage?
- 2
SG&A rose 10.8% to $6.27B, outpacing sales growth; what specific wage, e-commerce, or tech investments are pressuring this and when does it normalize?
- 3
With $17.4B cash on hand and only $420M in buybacks YTD versus a $1.15B dividend, why no special dividend or accelerated repurchase given the stock multiple?
Refreshed when COST files a new report · last from 2025-10-08