Costco Wholesale Corp. reported net sales of $23.70 billion for the retail month of August, the four weeks ended Aug. 30, up 9.9 percent from $21.56 billion a year earlier, closing out a fiscal year in which the warehouse club’s sales grew 10.2 percent to $297.3 billion.
For the 16-week fourth quarter, the Issaquah, Washington-based membership club retailer reported net sales of $93.9 billion, up 11.3 percent from $84.4 billion last year.
U.S. comparable sales rose 9 percent in August, with Canada up 4 percent and other international up 9.5 percent, for a total company gain of 8.4 percent. As was the case in July, gasoline bolstered the figures: Andrew Yoon, director of finance and investor relations, said gas price inflation added approximately 2.9 percentage points to total reported comparable sales, with the average worldwide selling price per gallon up 25.8 percent year over year. Excluding gas price changes and foreign exchange, U.S. comps rose 5.6 percent and total company comps 5.4 percent; stripping out all gas sales and currency effects puts total company comps at approximately 5.3 percent.
The company also noted that Labor Day fell one week later this year in the U.S. and Canada, a calendar shift that negatively impacted August total and comparable sales by just under 75 basis points.
Traffic and basket
Comparable traffic rose 2.5 percent worldwide and 2.3 percent in the U.S., a moderation from July’s 3.6 percent worldwide pace. Average transaction was up 5.7 percent worldwide including gas inflation and currency effects, and up 2.8 percent excluding both.
Regional and category highlights
Yoon said the strongest U.S. regions were the Southeast, San Diego and the Midwest, while Spain, China and Korea led other international markets in local currencies. Cannibalization from new warehouse openings trimmed comps by approximately 50 basis points.
By category, excluding foreign exchange, foods and sundries rose low single digits, led by food, frozen foods and sundries. Fresh foods climbed mid-single digits, with bakery and meat the better performers. Non-foods also rose mid-single digits, led by home furnishings, sporting goods and jewelry, and ancillary business sales jumped high 20s, with gas, pharmacy and hearing aids on top; gas was up low 30s, driven by price per gallon changes.
Digital still outrunning the warehouses
Digitally-enabled comparable sales climbed 17.9 percent for the month, and 20.9 percent for the full fiscal year, roughly two and a half times the total company rate, extending the pattern that held all year.
Quarter and fiscal year
Fourth quarter comparable sales rose 9.4 percent, or 6.7 percent excluding gas and foreign exchange, with the U.S. at 10.7 percent reported and 7.2 percent adjusted. For the 52-week fiscal year ended Aug. 30, total company comps rose 8.4 percent, or 6.6 percent adjusted, with the U.S. at 8.2 percent reported and 6.6 percent adjusted.
Costco operates 939 warehouses, including 647 in the U.S. 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.
The company will release fourth quarter and fiscal 2026 earnings after market close Sept. 24, with a call to follow at 2 p.m. Pacific. The September reporting period will cover the five weeks ending Oct. 4.