Costco Wholesale Corp

Company facts

Industry

Retail-Variety Stores

Headquarters

Issaquah, Washington

Most recent report

8-K, filed Oct 16, 2026

Incorporated

Washington

Filings on record

1,002+ filings

On EDGAR

CIK 909832

Fiscal year ends

August

Filer status

Large accelerated filer

What to read: FY2026 10-K

SECSift found 4 of 27 sections worth reading, with 6 positive, 18 notable, and 4 negative flags.

• Business (Item 1)

  Warehouse count, membership, renewal rates, employee data, and key metrics all quantified for FY2026.
  Positive

  • Net 25 new warehouses in FY2026, reaching 939 total.
  • Executive members grew to 42.3 million, driving 75.2% of worldwide net sales.
  Notable

  • Gasoline business contributed 11% of total net sales in FY2026.
  • Digitally-enabled sales (including Costco Travel) also 11% of total net sales.
  • Renewal rate 92.3% US/Canada and 89.8% worldwide, indicating strong member loyalty.

• Risk Factors (Item 1A)

  Concentration on U.S./Canada ops and specific risk factors with numbers require attention.
  Notable

  • Membership growth, Executive penetration, and renewal rates are key to profitability.
  • Higher margins but a growing share of sales; brand damage would hurt results.
  • Majority of claims self-insured; large losses could impact results.
  • International ops are 27% of net sales and 35% of operating income; FX fluctuations increase risk.
  • Stock price reflects high expectations; failure to meet could cause decline.
  Negative

  • 86% of net sales from U.S. and Canada; a slowdown would hit results.
  • California alone is 26% of U.S. net sales; heavy dependency.

• Management's Discussion (Item 7)

  MD&A contains detailed FY2026 results, membership trends, tariff refunds, and capex plans.
  Positive

  • Net sales rose 10% to $297,247M in FY2026, driven by comparable sales growth of 8%.
  • Membership fee revenue grew 11% to $5,907M in FY2026, from new sign-ups, fee increases, and upgrades.
  • Net income grew 14% to $9,226M ($20.76/diluted share) in FY2026 from $8,099M ($18.21).
  • Board approved a 13% increase in quarterly cash dividend to $1.47/share in April 2026.
  Notable

  • Opened 28 new warehouses (25 net new) in FY2026, vs 27 new (25 net) in FY2025.
  • Higher gasoline prices and FX added 179bps to net sales growth in FY2026.
  • Reported gross margin down 3 bps y/y; up 10 bps excluding gas price inflation in FY2026.
  • SG&A as a % of sales down 10 bps; up 1 bp excluding gas inflation in FY2026.
  • Effective tax rate fell to 24.7% in FY2026 from 25.1% in FY2025, helped by discrete tax benefits.
  • Costco received $184M in IEEPA tariff refunds in FY2026; most invested in price reductions.
  • Plans $7.5B capex for FY2027 vs $6.4B in FY2026; up to 33 new warehouses.

• Financial Statements (Item 8)

  Financial statements with key notes: debt maturity, LIFO charge, litigation, tax items.
  Notable

  • A $206M LIFO charge was recorded in FY2026 to account for higher merchandise costs.
  • Lease payments for signed but not yet commenced leases total $1,667M, a future obligation.
  • Valuation allowance for foreign tax credits rose to $641M (from $554M), expiring beginning FY2030.
  Negative

  • In Gray v. Costco, a class was certified over Washington second-job restriction; trial set for March 2027.
  • In tariff refund class actions, a motion to dismiss was denied in July 2026; litigation continues.

What changed: FY2026 vs. FY2025

About 5% of COST's FY2026 10-K is new information. 27 paragraphs were added, 194 changed, and 61 removed. Below are the most important lines SECSift identified.

• Financial Statements (Item 8) 76
• Management's Discussion (Item 7) 48
• Risk Factors (Item 1A) 24
• Business (Item 1) 22
• Market Risk (Item 7A) 6
• Form 10-K Summary (Item 16) 5
• Exhibits (Item 15) 4
• Controls and Procedures (Item 9A) 4
• Cybersecurity (Item 1C) 3
• Properties (Item 2) 3
• Market for the Stock (Item 5) 3
• Directors and Officers (Item 10) 1