Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) posted $95.7 billion in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, up 11.1% from a year earlier, as comparable sales rose across its U.S. and international warehouses. The result topped the $94.85 billion analyst estimate reported by Yahoo Finance.
The 16-week quarter ended Aug. 30. Net sales, which exclude membership fees, increased 11.2% to $93.9 billion. Net income rose to $3.0 billion, or $6.75 per diluted share, from $2.61 billion, or $5.87 per share, a year earlier. Yahoo Finance reported an analyst earnings estimate of $6.55 per share.
The earnings figure includes a nonrecurring benefit of 15 cents per share from refunds of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Costco said it reinvested part of those refunds in increased value for members. Excluding the stated benefit, earnings would have been $6.60 per share—still above the estimate cited by Yahoo, but a narrower beat than the headline figure suggests.
Companywide comparable sales increased 9.4% in the quarter, or 6.7% excluding the effects of gasoline price changes and foreign exchange. U.S. comparable sales rose 10.7%, or 7.2% on that adjusted basis. Adjusted comparable sales increased 4.6% in Canada and 6.2% in Costco’s other international markets.
Digitally enabled comparable sales rose 19.5%, or 19.8% after the gasoline and currency adjustments. Membership fees totaled $1.85 billion for the quarter, up from $1.72 billion a year earlier. The results show growth across Costco’s warehouse, digital and membership businesses, though the company’s release does not break out grocery sales from other merchandise categories.
For the full fiscal year, Costco reported $303.2 billion in total revenue, including $297.2 billion in net sales. Annual net income rose to $9.23 billion, or $20.76 per diluted share, from $8.10 billion, or $18.21 per share, in fiscal 2025. Adjusted comparable sales increased 6.6% for the year. Costco ended the period with 939 warehouses worldwide, including 647 in the United States and Puerto Rico.
For grocery retailers, the clearest competitive signal is the 7.2% increase in adjusted U.S. comparable sales. Costco’s 7.2% gain there stands out against recent results from conventional grocers. Publix reported a 0.5% decline in second-quarter comparable sales, while Kroger’s identical sales excluding fuel rose just 0.2% and Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. comparable sales excluding gasoline increased 0.8%. The companies’ quarters and sales measures differ, and Costco does not report a separate grocery comp. Still, its growth underscores the pressure its value proposition puts on supermarket competitors.