Catch up on the essentials
- Costco Wholesale Corporation reported that net sales for its fiscal fourth quarter, a 16-week period, increased 11.2 percent to $93.9 billion, compared with $84.4 billion a year earlier.
- Comparable sales rose 9.4 percent for the quarter and 8.4 percent for the fiscal year on a reported basis, and 6.7 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively, when adjusted for gasoline price changes and foreign exchange.
- Costco's next scheduled release of operating results would be its fiscal first-quarter update for the period ending in late November 2026, with a conference call expected to follow under the company's quarterly cadence.
Selected from this article · 2026-09-25
Read on for the full pictureQ4 and fiscal-year 2026 results
Costco Wholesale Corporation reported that net sales for its fiscal fourth quarter, a 16-week period, increased 11.2 percent to $93.9 billion, compared with $84.4 billion a year earlier. For the 52-week fiscal year ended August 30, 2026, net sales rose 10.1 percent to $297.2 billion, up from $269.9 billion, the company said in a September 24, 2026 release.
Net income for the quarter was $2.998 billion, or $6.75 per diluted share, versus $2.610 billion, or $5.87 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter. Full-year net income reached $9.226 billion, or $20.76 per diluted share, compared with $8.099 billion, or $18.21 per diluted share. The quarter's results were helped by a non-recurring benefit of $0.15 per diluted share from IEEPA tariff refunds, partially offset by reinvestment of those refunds in increased member value.
Comparable sales and digital growth
Comparable sales rose 9.4 percent for the quarter and 8.4 percent for the fiscal year on a reported basis, and 6.7 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively, when adjusted for gasoline price changes and foreign exchange. By region, adjusted U.S. comparable sales grew 7.2 percent in the quarter and 6.6 percent for the year, while Canada posted 4.6 percent and 6.7 percent gains, and other international markets rose 6.2 percent and 6.5 percent. Digitally-enabled comparable sales increased 19.5 percent in the quarter and 20.9 percent for the fiscal year.
Earnings call readout and analyst focus
On a conference call held September 24, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. EDT, President and CEO Ron Vachris and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip fielded questions from analysts including Michael Lasser of UBS, Simeon Gutman of Morgan Stanley, Charles Grom of Gordon Haskett, Scot Ciccarelli of Truist, John Heinbockel of Guggenheim, Rupesh Parikh of Oppenheimer, Corey Tarlowe of Jefferies, Kelly Bania of BMO, Gregory Melich of Evercore ISI, Gabriella Garr of TD Cowen, Katharine McShane of Goldman Sachs, Christopher Horvers of JPMorgan, David Bellinger of Mizuho, and Christopher Nardone of BofA Securities. The call followed a release that, according to Seeking Alpha's earnings summary, showed EPS of $6.60 beating consensus by $0.08 and revenue of $95.72 billion, up 11.10 percent year-over-year and beating consensus by $836.87 million.
Warehouse footprint
As of the report, Costco operates 939 warehouses worldwide: 647 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 115 in Canada, 43 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, three in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland and New Zealand. The company also runs e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and China.
Upcoming milestone
Costco's next scheduled release of operating results would be its fiscal first-quarter update for the period ending in late November 2026, with a conference call expected to follow under the company's quarterly cadence.
Share this article
