Costco (COST) earnings Q1 2026

Costco on Thursday surpassed Wall Avenue’s quarterly expectations and posted year-over-year gross sales development of 8.2% because the retailer attracted extra digital gross sales and opened new places.

The warehouse membership doesn’t share a full-year outlook.

On the corporate’s earnings name, CFO Gary Millerchip mentioned e-commerce good points had been one of many strengths of the quarter. Digital gross sales jumped by 20.5% yr over yr. Visitors on its web site elevated 24% yr over yr. Identical-day supply service provided by means of Instacart within the U.S. and Uber and DoorDash internationally grew at a quicker tempo than total digital gross sales.

Costco had a optimistic begin to the busiest weeks of the vacation season, too. Millerchip mentioned Black Friday was a record-breaking day for the warehouse membership’s U.S. e-commerce enterprise, producing over $250 million in non-food orders.

This is how Costco did in its fiscal first quarter in contrast with what Wall Avenue was anticipating, primarily based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $4.50 vs. $4.27 anticipated
• Income: $67.31 billion vs. $67.14 billion anticipated

Costco has attracted new members and better gross sales at its golf equipment and on-line as U.S. shoppers throughout incomes search worth whereas searching for groceries, family necessities, vacation presents and extra.

Together with its warehouse membership rivals, Costco has gained traction with youthful prospects who’re signing up for memberships. Costco has additionally benefitted from a membership price enhance within the U.S. and Canada, which took impact in September 2024, and kicked in as new members signed up or as present prospects’ renewed their annual memberships once they lapsed.

Within the three-month interval that ended Nov. 23, Costco’s internet earnings rose to $2 billion, or $4.50 per share, from $1.80 billion, or $4.04 per share, within the year-ago quarter. Income elevated to $67.31 billion from $62.15 billion within the year-ago quarter.

Comparable gross sales, an trade metric that takes out the affect of one-time components like retailer openings and closures, elevated 5.9% within the U.S. and 6.4% throughout the globe.

Gross sales in non-food had been led by pharmacy, gold and jewellery, tires, small electrics and attire, which grew by double-digits year-over-year, Millerchip mentioned.

Within the first quarter, Costco opened eight new warehouse golf equipment, together with a relocation in Canada, its third location in France, 4 new places within the U.S. and two further Canadian enterprise facilities, CEO Ron Vachris mentioned on the corporate’s earnings name. Enterprise facilities are inclined to promote bulk objects supposed for eating places and different sorts of companies. These further places carry its whole retailer depend to 921 around the globe.

He mentioned the corporate plans to proceed to open 30 or extra golf equipment per yr in future years.

As a warehouse membership, Costco depends on membership charges to spice up its income and assist hold the value of its objects low. With increased tariffs, nonetheless, the retailer has handled rising prices. A couple of third of Costco’s U.S. gross sales come from imported items.

Inflation “remained comparatively in keeping with current quarters,” Millerchip mentioned. He mentioned in grocery, Costco noticed increased inflation in commodities corresponding to beef, seafood and low, however that was offset by decrease inflation in eggs, cheese, butter and produce.

In non-food, he mentioned Costco noticed low single-digit inflation for the third consecutive quarter, primarily pushed by gold and imported items.

Millerchip mentioned on the earnings name that Costco has seemed for methods to cut back the affect of the duties, together with sourcing extra objects from the U.S., consolidating shopping for throughout the globe to decrease the price of items and swapping out classes or objects to ones that are not as uncovered to steep tariff prices.

Its non-public label, Kirkland Signature, is one other technique to offset tariff costs as a result of it has extra management over the availability chain, he mentioned.

In late November, Costco sued the Trump administration to get a full refund of recent tariffs that it has paid to this point this yr and to dam these import duties from being collected from the corporate because it waits for a Supreme Courtroom ruling on the duties.

As of the tip of the quarter, Costco had 81.4 million whole paid members, up 5.2% yr over yr and 145.9 million cardholders, up 5.1% yr over yr, Millerchip mentioned. Its renewal fee within the U.S. and Canada was 92.2% and its worldwide fee was 89.7%, slipping a bit as extra prospects join memberships on-line and people members renew at a barely decrease fee.

As of Thursday’s shut, Costco’s shares have declined almost 4% to this point this yr. That trails the S&P 500’s 17% good points throughout the identical interval. Nonetheless, over the previous 5 years, Costco’s inventory has jumped by 141%. The corporate’s inventory closed at $884.48 on Thursday, bringing its market worth to $392.67 billion.