Consumer · Retail
COST Costco
Runs membership warehouse stores selling a limited selection of goods in bulk at low margins, in the U.S. and abroad.
- Where the warehouse goods end up.
- Education only · not a recommendation
Price · as of previous close
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Price, daily change and analyst projections appear here once the licensed market-data feed is connected. We don't show unlicensed or made-up numbers.
How it makes money
- Annual membership fees — a large share of its profit
- Thin markups on high volumes of groceries, fuel and general merchandise
- Its own Kirkland brand
What an owner watches
- Membership renewal rates
- Same-store sales — growth from existing warehouses
- New warehouse openings
- Inflation and what it does to shoppers' baskets
Questions we ask in class
- How can a store make money selling things at almost no markup?
- What does a renewal rate tell an owner that sales do not?
- Why might a recession help or hurt this business?
What this page is
An educational profile: what the business does and the questions an owner asks. It is not investment advice, not a recommendation to buy or sell Costco, and not a forecast. Every company page on this site follows the same structure so you can compare businesses, not prices. Disclosures →