COST · Plain-English company overview
A stock is a share of ownership in a company. Owning one means you own a small piece of that business.
In the company's own words, from Item 1 (Business) of its latest annual report (Form 10-K) filed with the SEC on 2025-10-08.
Costco Wholesale Corporation and its subsidiaries (Costco or the Company) began operations in 1983, in Seattle, Washington. We are principally engaged in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States (U.S.) and Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Sweden, Iceland, and New Zealand. Costco operated 914, 890, and 861 warehouses worldwide at August 31, 2025, September 1, 2024, and September 3, 2023. The Company operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, under the symbol “COST.”
We report on a 52/53-week fiscal year, consisting of thirteen four-week periods and ending on the Sunday nearest the end of August. The first three quarters consist of three periods each, and the fourth quarter consists of four periods (five weeks in the thirteenth period in a 53-week year). The material seasonal impact in our operations is increased net sales and earnings during the winter holiday season. References to 2025 and 2024 relate to the 52-week fiscal years ended August 31, 2025, and September 1, 2024. References to 2023 relate to the 53-week fiscal year ended September 3, 2023.
Read the full 10-K on SEC.gov →
An earnings release is a company's quarterly report of how much money it made. Analysts predict these numbers ahead of time, and the actual results are compared against those predictions.
In the most recent quarter (2026-06-30), Costco Wholesale Corp /NEW reported earnings of $4.93 per share. Analysts expected $5.0254 per share, so the company missed expectations.
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