Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports September Sales Results
Canada's comparable sales rose 4.9% excluding gasoline-price and foreign-exchange changes, versus 8.0% in the U.S.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
Costco Wholesale (Nasdaq: COST) reported September net sales of $30.02 billion for the five-week retail month ended October 4, 2026.
Sales increased 13.0% from $26.58 billion last year. Comparable sales grew 11.4%, or 7.6% excluding changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange. Digitally-enabled sales, meaning sales initiated through a digital device, increased 19.0% year over year, or 19.1% excluding foreign exchange. Labor Day occurred one week later in the U.S. and Canada, lifting September total and comparable sales by a little more than 50 basis points.
How this balance works
Rhea-AI gives every point it takes from this document a weight. Minor counts 1, Moderate 3 and Major 9, so one Major point outweighs several Minor ones. The bar adds up the weights on each side, and when neither side holds more than 65% of the total the balance reads Mixed.
It reads the document as published, with the same rules for every company, and it does not look at what the market expected or at how the stock traded, so a point can be objectively good on a day the stock falls.
Rhea-AI Sentiment measures something else, the tone of the wording.
Positive
- Moderate pointSeptember net sales increased 13.0% to $30.02 billion from $26.58 billion last year.
- Moderate pointTotal comparable sales rose 11.4% over five weeks; growth excluding gasoline-price and foreign-exchange changes was 7.6%.
- Minor pointU.S. comparable sales rose 12.5% over five weeks; growth excluding gasoline-price and foreign-exchange changes was 8.0%.
- Minor pointCanada comparable sales rose 6.3% over five weeks; growth excluding gasoline-price and foreign-exchange changes was 4.9%.
- Minor pointOther International comparable sales rose 10.8% over five weeks; growth excluding gasoline-price and foreign-exchange changes was 7.7%.
2 minor points
- Minor pointDigitally-enabled sales increased 19.0% year over year over five weeks, or 19.1% excluding foreign exchange.
- Minor pointLater Labor Day timing lifted September total and comparable sales by a little more than 50 basis points.
Negative
- None.
Key Figures
- Net sales
- $30.02 billion; +13.0% year over year
- Five weeks ended October 4, 2026
- Total comparable sales
- 11.4%
- Five weeks
- Comparable sales excluding gasoline and foreign exchange impacts
- 7.6%
- Five weeks; total company
- Digitally-enabled sales growth
- 19.0% reported; 19.1% excluding foreign exchange
- Five weeks
- Labor Day timing impact
- A little more than 50 bps
- Positive impact on September total and comparable sales
Historical Context
-
August net sales rose 9.9%, with company comparable sales up 8.4%.
-
July net sales rose 10.7%, and company comparable sales increased 8.9%.
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Key Terms
u.s. gaap financial
forward-looking statements regulatory
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
ISSAQUAH, Wash., Oct. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: COST) today reported net sales of
Comparable sales were as follows:
| 5 Weeks | |
| U.S. | |
| Canada | |
| Other International | |
| Total Company | |
Comparable sales excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange were as follows:
| 5 Weeks | |
| U.S. | |
| Canada | |
| Other International | |
| Total Company | |
Digitally-enabled sales, which are sales initiated through a digital device, whether fulfilled through a warehouse, distribution center, or Costco Travel, increased year-over-year as follows:
| 5 Weeks | |
| Reported | |
| Excluding Foreign Exchange | |
Labor Day in the U.S. and Canada occurred one week later this year. The shift positively impacted September total and comparable sales by a little more than 50bps.
Additional discussion of these results is available in a pre-recorded message. It can be accessed by visiting investor.costco.com (click on “Events & Presentations”). This message will be available through 4:00 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
Costco currently operates 939 warehouses, including 647 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 115 in Canada, 43 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, three in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland, and New Zealand. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and China.
Certain statements contained in this document and the pre-recorded message constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, inflation or deflation, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, breaches of security or privacy of member or business information, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, capital spending, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (generally including health-care costs and wages), workforce interruptions, energy and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions (including tariffs and global conflicts), the ability to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, regulatory and other impacts related to environmental and social matters, public-health related factors, and other risks identified from time to time in the Company’s public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company does not undertake to update these statements, except as required by law. Comparable sales and comparable sales excluding impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange are intended as supplemental information and are not a substitute for net sales presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
| CONTACTS: | Costco Wholesale Corporation Josh Dahmen, 425/313-8254 Andrew Yoon, 425/313-6305 Bryan Starnes, 425/427-7403 |
COST-Sales
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
How much did Costco's September 2026 sales increase?
Costco's net sales increased 13.0% to $30.02 billion from $26.58 billion last year. The September retail month covered the five weeks ended October 4, 2026.
How fast did Costco's digitally-enabled sales grow in September 2026?
Costco's digitally-enabled sales increased 19.0% year over year, or 19.1% excluding foreign exchange, for the five weeks ended October 4, 2026. These are sales initiated through a digital device, whether fulfilled through a warehouse, distribution center, or Costco Travel.