By Vanderbiltreport Team | September 25, 2026
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) closed its 2026 fiscal year with a fourth quarter that came in ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. Net sales rose 11.2% to $93.9 billion. Earnings per share were $6.75, compared with $5.87 a year earlier. This Costco Q4 earnings report came out after the market closed on Thursday, September 24. On Friday, September 25, investors are working through the numbers, including the tariff refunds that helped the quarter.
Below we cover what Costco reported, what management said on the call, how the results compared with expectations, and the scheduled dates to watch next.
How to read this article: Verified items come from Costco’s official earnings release. Company statement covers what Costco executives said on the earnings call, as reported by news outlets. Reported items come from linked news coverage. Analysis is Vanderbiltreport context, not fact.
Costco Q4 Earnings at a Glance
Verified (from the Costco earnings release, September 24, 2026):
| Metric | Q4 FY2026 (16 weeks) | Q4 FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $93.9 billion (+11.2%) | $84.4 billion |
| Membership fees | $1.850 billion | $1.724 billion |
| Total revenue | $95.723 billion | $86.156 billion |
| Net income | $2.998 billion | $2.610 billion |
| Diluted EPS | $6.75 | $5.87 |
| Total company comparable sales | +9.4% (+6.7% excl. gas and FX) | — |
| Digitally-enabled comparable sales | +19.5% (+19.8% excl. gas and FX) | — |
Verified. Costco said fourth-quarter results included a non-recurring benefit of $0.15 per diluted share from IEEPA tariff refunds received during the quarter. That figure is net of the part of the refunds the company put back into lower prices for members.
How Results Compared With Analyst Estimates
Reported. According to Investing.com via Yahoo Finance, analysts had expected EPS of about $6.55 and revenue of about $94.85 billion. Costco’s $6.75 and $95.7 billion were both above those figures. The consensus for adjusted comparable sales growth was about 6.44%, and Costco reported 6.7%. Benzinga cited a slightly lower EPS consensus of $6.52.
Reported. The shares hardly moved after the release. Benzinga reported the stock up 0.2% at $898.00 in after-hours trading on Thursday. Investing.com reported a small premarket decline on Friday. Share prices change constantly. Check a live quote for current trading.
Analysis. The $0.15 tariff-refund benefit is roughly the gap between reported EPS and the consensus. Without it, EPS would have been about $6.60, still at or slightly above the estimates cited. Investors will likely weigh the one-time benefit against the underlying sales trend. This is an arithmetic observation, not a forecast.
Comparable Sales by Region
Verified. Comparable sales for the 16-week quarter, as reported and excluding the impact of gasoline prices and foreign exchange:
| Segment | Reported | Excl. gas and FX |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. | 10.7% | 7.2% |
| Canada | 5.0% | 4.6% |
| Other International | 7.0% | 6.2% |
| Total company | 9.4% | 6.7% |
| Digitally-enabled | 19.5% | 19.8% |
Analysis. In the U.S., reported comparable sales grew 3.5 percentage points faster than the adjusted figure. Higher gasoline prices explain most of that difference. With crude oil above $90 a barrel this week, fuel is lifting Costco’s headline sales more than its core merchandise business. That is why many analysts look at the adjusted figure first.
Full Fiscal Year 2026 Results
Verified. For the 52 weeks ended August 30, 2026:
- Net sales: $297.2 billion, up 10.1% from $269.9 billion
- Membership fees: $5.907 billion, up from $5.323 billion
- Total revenue: $303.154 billion, up from $275.235 billion
- Net income: $9.226 billion, or $20.76 per diluted share, up from $8.099 billion, or $18.21
- Comparable sales: total company +8.4% (+6.6% excl. gas and FX); digitally-enabled +20.9% (+20.7% adjusted)
- Warehouses: 939 in operation, including 647 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico
What Management Said on the Earnings Call
The figures below are what executives said on the call, as summarized by Yahoo Finance’s earnings-call highlights. They are company statements and do not come from the audited release.
Membership
- Paid executive members: 42.3 million, up 9.4% year over year
- Total paid members: 84.1 million, up 3.8%; total cardholders: 150.4 million
- Renewal rate: 92.3% in the U.S. and Canada and 89.8% worldwide, each up 10 basis points from the prior quarter
Tariff refunds and pricing
Company statement. Management said Costco received about $184 million in tariff refunds in the quarter. CEO Ron Vachris said the company used some of the refunds to lower prices on produce, meat, beverages, home furnishings and hardware in the later part of the quarter. CFO Gary Millerchip said, “Our goal is to be the first to lower prices where we see opportunities.”
Expansion and spending plans for fiscal 2027
- Company statement. About 33 warehouse openings are planned, including 5 relocations. Management said it targets about 30 net new locations per year.
- Company statement. Planned international openings include 4 in Europe, 5 in Canada and 1 in Mexico.
- Company statement. Capital expenditures are expected to be about $7.5 billion, mainly for new warehouses and the supply chain.
Company Background: Who Is Costco?
Verified. Costco Wholesale Corporation, based in Issaquah, Washington, runs membership warehouse clubs. Its shares trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker COST. Its business model is simple: keep merchandise margins thin and earn a large share of profit from annual membership fees. That is why investors watch renewal rates and paid-member growth closely. In fiscal 2026, membership fees were $5.9 billion of total revenue of $303.2 billion.
Reported. Costco’s last U.S. and Canada membership fee increase took effect in September 2024. A Motley Fool analysis published September 23 argued that the boost to growth from that increase is close to running its course. That is commentary, not company guidance.
Why the Costco Q4 Earnings Report Matters
- Consumer read-through (Analysis). Costco reports sales every month and is one of the largest U.S. retailers, so its results are closely watched as a guide to household spending. This week the 10-year Treasury yield reached its highest level since 2007 and oil stayed above $90. Against that backdrop, double-digit U.S. reported comps point to strong traffic, though higher gasoline prices account for part of the figure.
- Tariff refunds (Analysis). Costco’s results show one way retailers are handling IEEPA tariff refunds: keeping part as profit and putting part back into prices. Other retailers may disclose similar items this reporting season.
- E-commerce (Verified/Analysis). Digitally-enabled comparable sales grew nearly 20% for the quarter and the year, well ahead of warehouse sales growth.
Market Context
Reported. The results came in a volatile week for U.S. stocks. On Thursday, September 24, the S&P 500 closed at 7,704.13 and the Nasdaq Composite at 26,939.37, both nearly unchanged, according to the Associated Press. TheStreet reported that the 10-year Treasury yield rose to about 5.19%, its highest since 2007. Markets are also pricing a higher chance of another Federal Reserve rate increase in October.
Costco’s scheduled report was listed in our Catalyst Watch for September 23–26. This article covers the actual results.
Next Steps: Dates to Watch
- Monthly sales reports. Costco publishes net sales and comparable sales every month. The next report, covering September, is expected in early October. The exact date will be on Costco’s investor relations site.
- Annual report (Form 10-K). Costco normally files its annual report with the SEC several weeks after the fiscal year ends. It will contain the audited full-year figures and risk factors. Filings are on SEC EDGAR.
- Warehouse openings. Management’s fiscal 2027 opening plan will be updated in future releases and calls.
Key Takeaways
- Costco’s fiscal Q4 2026 net sales rose 11.2% to $93.9 billion, and EPS was $6.75 (Verified).
- Results included a one-time $0.15-per-share benefit from tariff refunds (Verified).
- Adjusted total-company comparable sales rose 6.7%, and digitally-enabled comps rose 19.5% (Verified).
- Management reported renewal rates of 92.3% in the U.S. and Canada and 89.8% worldwide, and plans about 33 openings in fiscal 2027 (Company statement).
- Shares moved less than 1% in extended trading after the release (Reported).
Sources
- Costco Wholesale Corporation: Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Results (GlobeNewswire, Sept. 24, 2026)
- Costco Investor Relations: Q4 and FY2026 results
- Yahoo Finance: Costco Wholesale Q4 earnings call highlights
- Investing.com via Yahoo Finance: Costco tops Q4 estimates
- Benzinga: Costco Wholesale, Scholastic and 3 stocks to watch heading into Friday
- The Motley Fool: Costco’s membership fee boost is about to run out
- Associated Press via ABC News: How major US stock indexes fared Thursday, 9/24/2026
- TheStreet: Stock market today, Sept. 24, 2026
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