How Costco makes money

Sources

• Costco Wholesale Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 30, 2026 · Costco Wholesale Corporation (filed with the U.S. SEC), 2026
• Walmart Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 · Walmart Inc. (filed with the U.S. SEC), 2026
• The Kroger Co. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 · The Kroger Co. (filed with the U.S. SEC), 2025
• Target Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 · Target Corporation (filed with the U.S. SEC), 2025
• Costco Wholesale Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 1, 2024 · Costco Wholesale Corporation (filed with the U.S. SEC), 2024
• Costco Wholesale Corporation Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 3, 2017 · Costco Wholesale Corporation (filed with the U.S. SEC), 2017
• Restaurant operators kept food cost ratios in check in 2024 (from the 2025 Restaurant Operations Data Abstract) · National Restaurant Association, 2024

Every number

• $297.2Bsec.gov ·2026 · Net sales, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• $5.9Bsec.gov ·2026 · Membership fees, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• $303.2Bsec.gov ·2026 · Total revenue: net sales plus membership fees, fiscal 2026.
• $264.3Bsec.gov ·2026 · Merchandise costs, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• $27.2Bsec.gov ·2026 · Selling, general and administrative expenses, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• $11.7Bsec.gov ·2026 · Operating income, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• $566Msec.gov ·2026 · Worked out: interest income and other, minus interest expense, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• $3Bsec.gov ·2026 · Provision for income taxes, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• $9.2Bsec.gov ·2026 · Net income, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• 50.6%sec.gov ·2026 · Worked out: membership fees ÷ operating income, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• 1.95%sec.gov ·2026 · Worked out: membership fees ÷ total revenue, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• $5.8Bsec.gov ·2026 · Worked out: gross margin minus SG&A, fiscal 2026. Costco doesn't split its running costs between the store and the memberships; this puts all of them on the store side.
• 3%sec.gov ·2026 · Worked out: net income ÷ total revenue, fiscal 2026 (income statement).
• $100example(example number: Simplified example: a round amount of shopping, to show Costco's averages.) · Simplified example: a round amount of shopping, to show Costco's averages.
• $88.91sec.gov ·2026 · Applied to the example cart, from Costco's fiscal 2026 net sales. Worked out: merchandise costs ÷ net sales.
• $9.15sec.gov ·2026 · Applied to the example cart, from Costco's fiscal 2026 net sales. SG&A as a share of net sales, as printed in the report's MD&A.
• $1.94sec.gov ·2026 · Applied to the example cart, from Costco's fiscal 2026 net sales. Worked out: the cart, minus the goods, minus running the warehouses.
• $11.09sec.gov ·2026 · Applied to the example cart, from Costco's fiscal 2026 net sales. Gross margin as a share of net sales, as printed in the report's MD&A.
• 11.1%sec.gov ·2026 · Gross margin as a share of net sales, fiscal 2026 (year ended August 2026), rounded.
• 11.3%sec.gov ·2026 · Sam's Club U.S. segment, gross profit as a share of net sales, fiscal 2026 (year ended January 2026).
• 22.9%sec.gov ·2025 · Gross margin as a share of sales, fiscal 2025 (year ended January 2026).
• 24.2%sec.gov ·2026 · Whole company, gross profit as a share of net sales, fiscal 2026 (year ended January 2026).
• 27.9%sec.gov ·2025 · Gross margin rate, fiscal 2025 (year ended January 2026).
• 939sec.gov ·2026 · Warehouses worldwide at the end of fiscal 2026.
• 355,000 peoplesec.gov ·2026 · Employees worldwide at the end of fiscal 2026.
• 774sec.gov ·2026 · Gas stations at the end of fiscal 2026.
• 11%sec.gov ·2026 · Gasoline's share of net sales, fiscal 2026.
• 4,000sec.gov ·2026 · Costco carries fewer than this many active items (SKUs) per warehouse in its core business.
• 2%sec.gov ·2026 · The Executive reward on qualified purchases, generally, up to a yearly maximum.
• $3.4Bsec.gov ·2026 · Executive rewards, counted as a reduction in sales, fiscal 2026 (notes to the financial statements).
• $3Bsec.gov ·2026 · Deferred membership fees at the end of fiscal 2026 (notes to the financial statements).
• $22.6Bsec.gov ·2026 · Accounts payable at the end of fiscal 2026 (balance sheet).
• $19.3Bsec.gov ·2026 · Merchandise inventories at the end of fiscal 2026 (balance sheet).
• 24.7%sec.gov ·2026 · Effective tax rate, fiscal 2026.
• 11%sec.gov ·2026 · Growth in membership fee revenue, fiscal 2026 vs. fiscal 2025.
• 30%sec.gov ·2026 · About this share of the growth in membership income in fiscal 2026 came from the fee increase.
• 92.3%sec.gov ·2026 · Renewal rate in the US and Canada at the end of fiscal 2026.
• 84.1 millionsec.gov ·2026 · Paid members at the end of fiscal 2026.
• 42.3 millionsec.gov ·2026 · Executive members at the end of fiscal 2026 (part of the paid members).
• 75.2%sec.gov ·2026 · Executive members' share of worldwide net sales, fiscal 2026.
• $60sec.gov ·2024 · US Gold Star and Business membership fee during fiscal 2024.
• $65sec.gov ·2024 · US and Canada Gold Star and Business fee from September 2024.
• $120sec.gov ·2024 · Executive membership fee before September 2024.
• $130sec.gov ·2024 · Executive membership fee from September 2024.
• 92.9%sec.gov ·2024 · Renewal rate in the US and Canada at the end of fiscal 2024.
• $5sec.gov ·2017 · The US and Canada fee went up by this much in June 2017, to the fee Costco charged until 2024.
• $2.5Bsec.gov ·2026 · Sam's Club U.S. membership and other income, fiscal 2026 (year ended January 2026).
• $2.4Bsec.gov ·2026 · Sam's Club U.S. operating income, fiscal 2026 (year ended January 2026).
• 32.4%restaurant.org ·2024 · Median food and drink cost for counter-service restaurants, 2024.