Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Earnings Call Transcripts
Costco Wholesale Corporation's Latest Earnings Call - September 2, 2026
In the August 2026 retail month, Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $23.70 billion, reflecting a robust increase of 9.9% year-over-year compared to $21.56 billion. Comparable sales growth was strong at 8.4%, although impacted by a shift in Labor Day timing, which reduced sales by approximately 75 basis points. The company will announce its Q4 and full fiscal year 2026 earnings on September 24, 2026, which could provide further insights into future performance and guidance adjustments.
Reported metrics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Net Sales | $23.70 billion (beat) |
| Comparable Sales | 8.4% (inline) |
| U.S. Comparable Sales | 9.0% (beat) |
| Digital Sales Growth | 17.9% (beat) |
| Traffic Growth | 2.5% (positive) |
| Gas Sales Growth | low 30s% (positive) |
Guidance from management
Management will release Q4 and full fiscal year 2026 earnings on September 24, 2026. No specific guidance changes were mentioned during the call.
What analysts pressed on
Analysts expressed concerns regarding the impact of the Labor Day shift on sales performance, questioning how this might affect future quarters. Additionally, there were inquiries about the sustainability of digital sales growth in the coming months.
Main topics on the call
- Strong Comparable Sales Growth — Costco's total comparable sales for August increased by 8.4%, with U.S. comparable sales at 9.0%. Management noted that 'gas price inflation positively impacted total reported comp sales by approximately 2.9%.'
- Impact of Labor Day Shift — The timing of Labor Day negatively affected sales by nearly 75 basis points, with management stating, 'Labor Day in the U.S. and Canada will occur 1 week later this year.' This shift may have dampened overall sales perfo...
- Digital Sales Performance — Digitally-enabled comparable sales surged by 17.9%, indicating strong online demand. This performance highlights Costco's successful adaptation to e-commerce trends.
- Regional Sales Variability — Sales performance varied by region, with the Southeast, San Diego, and Midwest showing the strongest comparable sales. Management highlighted, 'the strongest results in Spain, China and Korea' for international markets.
Read the full Costco Wholesale Corporation transcript (September 2, 2026) → Summary generated from the call transcript; every figure above is stated by management on the record.
About Costco Wholesale Corporation
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) is a publicly listed company in the Consumer Staples Distribution and Retail industry, within the Consumer Staples sector. It trades on NasdaqGS and is based in US. EarningsCalls.dev maintains a free, full-text archive of its earnings call transcripts — 122 calls on record spanning January 8, 2020 to September 2, 2026. Every transcript is split into speaker-by-speaker segments with headline metrics, free to read or available through our REST API.
Earnings Call History
EarningsCalls.dev has 122 Costco Wholesale Corporation earnings call transcripts on record, spanning January 8, 2020 to September 2, 2026. Based on this history, Costco Wholesale Corporation reports quarterly. The most recent call on file is dated September 2, 2026. The full list is below — each row opens the complete, free-to-read transcript.
- Ticker
- COST
- Exchange
- NasdaqGS
- Country
- US
- Sector
- Consumer Staples
- Calls on record
- 122
- First call
- January 8, 2020
- Most recent
- September 2, 2026
- Reporting cadence
- quarterly