Costco Wholesale Corporation
Rank #128Capital ReturnCOST · Nasdaq · Consumer Defensive
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) — Rank #128 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.41) · ROE 24.2% · Piotroski F-Score 6 / 9.
As-of 2026-09-15 · CIK 0000909832 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.
About
Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden.
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It offers merchandise, including sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, deli, liquor, and tobacco; non-food merchandise comprising appliances, small electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, lawn and garden, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal, automotive, stamps, tickets, apparel, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and fresh food, such as meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products. The company is also involved in warehouse ancillary operations, which include gasoline, pharmacies, optical, food courts, hearing-aid centers, and tire installation centers. In addition, it engages in e-commerce, business centers, travel, and other businesses. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999.
Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.
- Industry
- Discount Stores
- Sector
- Consumer Defensive
- State
- WA
- Filer Category
- Large accelerated filer
- Fiscal Year End
- August 30
- Website
- costco.com
Financials
Each fiscal year is read as-of that year’s own 10-K filing, so nothing restated after the fact leaks backwards. Line items this filer never tagged are omitted. Hover or tap a badge for the diagnostic behind it.
| Fiscal year end | 2025-08-31filed 2025-10-08 | 2024-09-01filed 2024-10-09 | 2023-09-03filed 2023-10-11 | 2022-08-28filed 2022-10-05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating | ||||
| Depreciation & amortization | 2,426.0 | 2,237.0 | 2,077.0 | 1,900.0 |
| Stock-based compensation | 860.0 | 818.0 | 774.0 | 724.0 |
| Change in inventory | (559.0) | 2,068.0 | (1,228.0) | 4,003.0 |
| Change in payables | 404.0 | 1,938.0 | (382.0) | 1,891.0 |
| Operating cash flow | 13,335.0 | 11,339.0 | 11,068.0 | 7,392.0 |
| Investing | ||||
| Capital expenditures | 5,498.0 | 4,710.0 | 4,323.0 | 3,891.0 |
| Acquisitions, net of cash | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Investing cash flow | (5,311.0) | (4,409.0) | (4,972.0) | (3,915.0) |
| Financing | ||||
| Debt issued | 0.0 | 498.0 | — | 0.0 |
| Debt repaid | 103.0 | 1,077.0 | 75.0 | 800.0 |
| Share repurchases | 903.0 | 700.0 | 676.0 | 439.0 |
| Dividends paid | 2,183.0 | 9,041.0 | 1,251.0 | 1,498.0 |
| Financing cash flow | (3,775.0) | (10,764.0) | (2,614.0) | (4,283.0) |
| Summary | ||||
| Free cash flow | 7,837.0 | 6,629.0 | 6,745.0 | 3,501.0 |
Figures are as originally filed with the SEC (point-in-time), not restated, so they can differ slightly from sites that show later-restated numbers. Why point-in-time?