On May 3rd Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) posted results for Q2 FY 2026 ending February 15th 2026 exceeding consensus estimates on EPS.
For Q2 Costco reported earnings of $2,035 million on revenue (sales and membership fees) of $69,597 million with a diluted EPS of $0.84. For the corresponding Q2 of FY 2025, Costco earned $1,788 million on revenue of $63,723 million with a diluted EPS of $4.02. Comparing Q2 of 2026 with the corresponding quarter of FY 2025, sales were 9.2 percent higher; Gross margin increased from 10.8 percent for Q2 FY 2025 to 11.2 percent for the most recent quarter. Operating margin increased from 8.9 percent in Q2 2025 to 9.0 percent for Q2 FY 2026.
Revenue YTD for 2026 was $136,924 up 8.8 percent over the corresponding 24-week period in 2025. Adjusted comparable sales for the 26 weeks ending March 1st were 6.4 percent for the entire Company, with the U.S. at 6.1; Canada at 8.2 and Other International at 6.4 percent. Digital sales were up by 21.3 percent. Overall comparable same-store sales were up 6.7 percent attributed to increases of 3.1 percent in traffic and 3.5 percent in ticket value.
Issues reviewed at the Investors’ Call included the impact and legality of erratic and unpredictable tariffs. According to Ron Vachris CEO, one third of the 4,000 SKUs are imported. Costco management will do all possible to restrain price increases and to possibly reimburse customers should this be practical or achievable. The Company is upgrading checkout procedures to enhance customer satisfaction.
Worldwide Costco posted an 89.7 percent membership renewal rate and a 4.8 percent increase in total membership to 82.1 million.
On February 15th 2026 Costco posted total assets of $83,639 million. Long-term debt and lease obligations amounted to $10,789 million.
Costco had an intraday market capitalization of $442,520 million on March 11th 2026. The Company has traded over the past fifty-two weeks over a range of $844.06 to $1,067.08 with a 50-day moving average of $967.08. COST trades with a forward P/E of 49.0. On March 3rd 2026 COST closed at $1,006.71 pre-release but traded at a low of $958.03 at noon post-release recovering to $990.48 at the close on March 11th.
Twelve-month trailing operating margin was 3.7 percent and profit margin 3.0 percent. The Company generated a return on assets of 8.7 percent and 29.7 percent on equity
Costco operates 924 warehouses with 624 in the U.S., 114 in Canada, 42 in Mexico and the remainder in 11 nations. Expansion plans are for 30 additional warehouses worldwide annually over the proximal five years.