Costco Wholesale Corporation COST

915.68 5.34 0.59% as of 1 Oct
Market cap
$403.5B
P/E
44.1×
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Growth Flags show if company had growth for consecutive years

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Operating margin

Costco Wholesale Corporation's operating margin over the twelve months to 31 August 2026 was 3.85%. Over the past ten years it has ranged from 3.09% (fiscal 2016) to 3.85% (fiscal 2026) — the current reading is the highest in ten years. That is below the Discount Stores industry median of 4.45% and above the Consumer Defensive sector median of 1.80%.

Operating margin, annual

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Annual

Period Operating margin Change (points)
FY2026 3.85% 0.08
FY2025 3.77% 0.12
FY2024 3.65% 0.30
FY2023 3.35% (0.08)
FY2022 3.43% 0.01
FY2021 3.42% 0.16
FY2020 3.26% 0.16
FY2019 3.10% (0.06)
FY2018 3.16% (0.03)
FY2017 3.19% 0.10

Quarterly

Period Operating margin Change (points)
Aug 2026 3.97% (0.02)
May 2026 3.99% 0.25
Feb 2026 3.74% 0.08
Nov 2025 3.66% (0.22)
46 more quarters

Against its own ten years

Low 3.09% High 3.85%
Ten-year median 3.30%
Current reading's percentile 100

Operating margin against peers

Company Operating margin
OLLI Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. compare 12.3%
DLTR Dollar Tree, Inc. compare 11.0%
DG Dollar General Corporation compare 5.59%
TGT Target Corporation compare 5.59%
PSMT PriceSmart, Inc. compare 4.51%
WMT Walmart Inc. compare 4.39%
COST Costco Wholesale Corporation 3.85%
BJ BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. compare 3.76%
TBBB BBB Foods Inc. compare −1.00%
Discount Stores industry median 4.45%
Consumer Defensive sector median 1.80%
Market median 0.00%

What Operating margin is

EBIT Margin tells an investor how much operating profit, before interest and taxes, a company keeps from each unit of revenue.

EBIT ÷ Revenue

The full definition of Operating margin →

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