Costco (Nasdaq: COST) stock fundamentals

Costco's 10-K for FY2026 attributes most of the rise in net sales to comparable sales, which it says increased 8%.^[1] It credits increases of 5% in average ticket and 3% in shopping frequency for that, and says higher gasoline prices added 130 basis points to net sales growth.^[1]

Membership fees, which the income statement adds to net sales to make total revenue, rose 11% in FY2026.^[1] The 10-K credits new member sign-ups, fee increases and upgrades to Executive membership.^[1]

The fiscal year is thirteen four-week periods; the fourth quarter covers four of them and each other quarter three.^[1] Q4 FY2026, four periods long, had revenue of USD 95.7 billion, our calculation as the fiscal year less the first three quarters, against USD 70.5 billion for the three periods of Q3 FY2026. Every quarter in full is on the Costco financial statements page.

Revenue growth was 15.8% in FY2022 and 5.0% in FY2024, then 8.2% in FY2025 and 10.1% in FY2026, on our calculations. FY2023, which ended on 3 Sep 2023, had one more week than the years either side of it, so its growth rate and FY2024's carry a note.

The 10-K says SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales decreased 10 basis points in FY2026.^[1] It also reports an effective tax rate of 24.7%, compared with 25.1% in FY2025.^[1]

Our gross margin stayed between 12.1% and 12.8% across the 5 years and was 12.8% in FY2026. We take total revenue less merchandise costs, so our gross profit includes membership fees, and divide it by total revenue. Costco's own gross margin is net sales less merchandise costs, reported as a percentage of net sales.^[1] Because it leaves membership fees out, Costco's figure reads lower than ours.

Cash from operations rose every year from USD 7.39 billion in FY2022. The 10-K puts the FY2026 increase down mainly to higher operating income and a smaller net investment in merchandise inventories.^[1] It says that smaller investment came from faster inventory turns and improved payment terms with suppliers.^[1]

Capital expenditure rose every year too, from USD 3.89 billion in FY2022. The 10-K says Costco opened 28 new warehouses in FY2026, three of them relocations.^[1]

In April 2026 the board raised the quarterly cash dividend from USD 1.30 to USD 1.47 per share, the 10-K reports.^[1] Dividends paid were USD 9.04 billion in FY2024, against USD 1.25 billion in FY2023 and USD 2.18 billion in FY2025. The FY2024 10-K reports a special cash dividend of USD 15 per share, paid in January 2024, and shows that a dividend declared in FY2023 was not yet paid at the end of that year.^[9]

Buybacks were USD 848 million in FY2026 and USD 903 million in FY2025. At the end of FY2026, USD 1,115 million remained under the share repurchase program the board authorized in January 2023, the 10-K says.^[1] Walmart stock fundamentals covers another retailer that runs membership warehouse clubs.