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Companies / Consumer Staples
COST

Costco

Costco runs 945 membership warehouses in 14 countries on a low-margin, high-volume model in which membership fees, Executive upgrades and rapid inventory turnover carry profitability; fiscal 2026 net sales rose 10% to $297.2 billion.

Consumer Staples Merchandise RetailAnalysis updated 2026-11-13

What the filings point to next

Our analysis of the moves the company's own disclosures point to, with the signals that would confirm them.

Top strategy callHigh confidence

A heavier, internationally tilted build-out in fiscal 2027, with openings and capital spending at multi-year highs.

Signals to watch
  • Quarterly warehouse counts by country in dividend press releases (945 as of November 10, 2026)
  • Share of fiscal 2027 openings outside the U.S. and Canada
  • Further local-currency debt or credit-line expansion by international subsidiaries
5 more strategy calls in the full analysis
  • Tariff refunds used to fund visible price cuts on goods rather than to widen margins.
    High confidence
  • A leaner balance sheet run with more reliance on committed credit, after returning most of its excess cash.
    Medium confidence
  • Heavier investment in in-house software, data and AI capability to defend against AI-driven price comparison and keep digital growth above 20%.
    Medium confidence
  • Executive membership upgrades and renewal quality replace the fee increase as the main lever for membership income.
    Medium confidence
  • Continued push into higher-traffic ancillary services, especially gasoline and pharmacy, accepting a lower reported gross margin percentage.
    Medium confidence

Relationship map

Who it buys from, sells to, partners with and competes against, as its disclosures describe it.

COSTPaid members (Gold Star, Business and Executive members): End customers paying annual fees; no single named customer is disclosed. Inferred grouping, so disclosed=false.Paid members (Gold Star Bus…Food service, convenience store and office businesses: Business-center customer segment; served generically, no counterparty named, so disclosed=false.Food service convenience st…Brand-name merchandise producers (not named): Direct merchandise suppliers; diversified with no significant single supplier. Not named, so disclosed=false.Brand-name merchandise prod…Third-party payment processors (not named): Process credit, debit and shop-card transactions; disruption or fee increases are a stated risk.Third-party payment process…External logistics providers (not named): Support e-commerce delivery alongside depots and supplier drop-ship arrangements.External logistics provider…Cloud and IT service providers (not named): Host or access company systems and data; a stated cybersecurity dependency.Cloud and IT service provid…Co-branded credit card issuer (not named): Co-brand card program whose reward costs affect core merchandise margin; issuer not named in the documents.Co-branded credit card issu…Third-party warranty providers (not named): Provide additional warranty coverage offered on electronics and major appliances.Third-party warranty provid…Walmart: Significant U.S. general merchandise retail competitor.WalmartSam's Club (Walmart): Competing U.S. warehouse club.Sam's Club (Walmart)BJ's Wholesale Club: Competing U.S. warehouse club.BJ's Wholesale Club

Customers Suppliers Partners (top) Competitors (bottom) · solid = disclosed, dashed = inferred · tap a highlighted company to open it

What other companies' disclosures say about it

Shares a board member with
BX MSFT

Business at a glance

Operating-health scores describe reported fundamentals on a 0–100 scale. They are not a rating of the stock. How they work

Operating health55
Growth55
Profitability20
Cash generation48
Balance sheet74
Dilution control78
Key ratios and five-year financials
Latest quarter revenue YoY (2026-05-10)11.6%Revenue growth (FY)10.1%Revenue CAGR (3y)7.8%Gross margin12.8%Operating margin3.9%Net margin3.0%Free cash flow margin3.1%R&D / revenue—Stock comp / revenue0.3%Net debt / operating cash flow-0.89xCurrent ratio1.06Diluted share count change-0.1%
Fiscal year endingFY 2022-08FY 2023-09FY 2024-09FY 2025-08FY 2026-08
Revenue$227.0B$242.3B$254.5B$275.2B$303.2B
Gross profit$27.6B$29.7B$32.1B$35.3B$38.9B
Operating income$7.8B$8.1B$9.3B$10.4B$11.7B
Net income$5.8B$6.3B$7.4B$8.1B$9.2B
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
Stock-based comp$724M$774M$818M$860M$924M
Buybacks$439M$676M$700M$903M$848M
Dividends$1.5B$1.3B$9.0B$2.2B$2.5B
Cash$10.2B$13.7B$9.9B$14.2B$20.2B
Total debt$6.6B$6.5B$5.9B$5.8B$6.2B
Equity$20.6B$25.1B$23.6B$29.2B$35.8B

Built from the company's disclosures: 10-K (2026-10-07), 8-K (2026-11-10), 8-K (2026-10-16), 8-K (2026-10-14), DEF 14A (2025-12-04).

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