Costco Wholesale Corporation COST

915.68 5.34 0.59% as of 1 Oct
Market cap
$403.5B
P/E
44.1×
Indexes indicate stock being part of an index,
Growth Flags show if company had growth for consecutive years

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Return on equity

Costco Wholesale Corporation's return on equity over the twelve months to 31 August 2026 was 28.4%. Over the past ten years it has ranged from 20.3% (fiscal 2016) to 30.7% (fiscal 2025); the current reading is higher than 75% of that period. That is above the Discount Stores industry median of 20.8% and above the Consumer Defensive sector median of 2.80%.

Return on equity, annual

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Annual

Period Return on equity Change (points)
FY2026 28.4% (2.29)
FY2025 30.7% 0.42
FY2024 30.3% 2.74
FY2023 27.5% (2.65)
FY2022 30.2% 2.96
FY2021 27.2% 3.88
FY2020 23.3% (2.17)
FY2019 25.5% (0.41)
FY2018 25.9% 3.03
FY2017 22.9% 2.61

Against its own ten years

Low 20.3% High 30.7%
Ten-year median 26.6%
Current reading's percentile 75

Return on equity against peers

Company Return on equity
DLTR Dollar Tree, Inc. compare 45.9%
COST Costco Wholesale Corporation 28.4%
BJ BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. compare 27.7%
TGT Target Corporation compare 26.4%
WMT Walmart Inc. compare 22.0%
DG Dollar General Corporation compare 19.7%
OLLI Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. compare 14.9%
PSMT PriceSmart, Inc. compare 12.1%
TBBB BBB Foods Inc. compare −65.8%
Discount Stores industry median 20.8%
Consumer Defensive sector median 2.80%
Market median 1.50%

What Return on equity is

ROE shows how much profit a company earns for its shareholders on the equity they have in the business.

Annual: Net Income Allotted to Shareholders ÷ Average Common Equity; TTM: Net Income Allotted to Shareholders ÷ Average Common Equity (latest quarter)

The full definition of Return on equity →

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