GURUFOCUS.COM » STOCK LIST » Consumer Defensive » Retail - Defensive » Costco Wholesale Corp (NAS:COST) » Definitions » ROE %

Costco Wholesale (COST) ROE %

: 29.73% (As of Feb. 2024)
View and export this data going back to 1985. Start your Free Trial

ROE % is calculated as Net Income divided by its average Total Stockholders Equity over a certain period of time. Costco Wholesale's annualized net income for the quarter that ended in Feb. 2024 was $6,972 Mil. Costco Wholesale's average Total Stockholders Equity over the quarter that ended in Feb. 2024 was $23,454 Mil. Therefore, Costco Wholesale's annualized ROE % for the quarter that ended in Feb. 2024 was 29.73%.

The historical rank and industry rank for Costco Wholesale's ROE % or its related term are showing as below:

COST' s ROE % Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 17.79   Med: 24.99   Max: 30.59
Current: 28.71

During the past 13 years, Costco Wholesale's highest ROE % was 30.59%. The lowest was 17.79%. And the median was 24.99%.

COST's ROE % is ranked better than
86.42% of 302 companies
in the Retail - Defensive industry
Industry Median: 9.84 vs COST: 28.71

Costco Wholesale ROE % Historical Data

The historical data trend for Costco Wholesale's ROE % can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

Costco Wholesale Annual Data
Trend Aug14 Aug15 Aug16 Aug17 Aug18 Aug19 Aug20 Aug21 Aug22 Aug23
ROE %
Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 26.10 23.87 27.93 30.59 27.54

Costco Wholesale Quarterly Data
May19 Aug19 Nov19 Feb20 May20 Aug20 Nov20 Feb21 May21 Aug21 Nov21 Feb22 May22 Aug22 Nov22 Feb23 May23 Aug23 Nov23 Feb24
ROE % Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 25.73 22.47 35.54 24.83 29.73

Competitive Comparison

For the Discount Stores subindustry, Costco Wholesale's ROE %, along with its competitors' market caps and ROE % data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Costco Wholesale ROE % Distribution

For the Retail - Defensive industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Costco Wholesale's ROE % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Costco Wholesale's ROE % falls into.



Costco Wholesale ROE % Calculation

Costco Wholesale's annualized ROE % for the fiscal year that ended in Aug. 2023 is calculated as

ROE %=Net Income (A: Aug. 2023 )/( (Total Stockholders Equity (A: Aug. 2022 )+Total Stockholders Equity (A: Aug. 2023 ))/ count )
=6292/( (20642+25058)/ 2 )
=6292/22850
=27.54 %

Costco Wholesale's annualized ROE % for the quarter that ended in Feb. 2024 is calculated as

ROE %=Net Income (Q: Feb. 2024 )/( (Total Stockholders Equity (Q: Nov. 2023 )+Total Stockholders Equity (Q: Feb. 2024 ))/ count )
=6972/( (26147+20760)/ 2 )
=6972/23453.5
=29.73 %

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

In the calculation of annual ROE %, the net income of the last fiscal year and the average total shareholder equity over the fiscal year are used. In calculating the quarterly data, the net income data used here is four times the quarterly (Feb. 2024) net income data. ROE % is displayed in the 30-year financial page.


Costco Wholesale  (NAS:COST) ROE % Explanation

ROE % measures the rate of return on the ownership interest (shareholder's equity) of the common stock owners. It measures a firm's efficiency at generating profits from every unit of shareholders' equity (also known as net assets or assets minus liabilities). ROE % shows how well a company uses investment funds to generate earnings growth. ROE %s between 15% and 20% are considered desirable.

The factors that affect a company's ROE % can be illustrated with the three-step DuPont Analysis:

ROE %(Q: Feb. 2024 )
=Net Income/Total Stockholders Equity
=6972/23453.5
=(Net Income / Revenue )*(Revenue / Total Assets)*(Total Assets / Total Stockholders Equity)
=(6972 / 233768)*(233768 / 70023)*(70023 / 23453.5)
=Net Margin %*Asset Turnover*Equity Multiplier
=2.98 %*3.3384*2.9856
=ROA %*Equity Multiplier
=9.95 %*2.9856
=29.73 %

With this breakdown, it is clear that if a company grows its Net Profit Margin, its Asset Turnover, or its Leverage, it can grow its ROE %.

The factors that affect a company's ROE % can also be illustrated with the five-step DuPont Analysis:

ROE %(Q: Feb. 2024 )
=Net Income/Total Stockholders Equity
=6972/23453.5
=(Net Income / Pre-Tax Income) * (Pre-Tax Income / Operating Income) * (Operating Income / Revenue) * (Revenue / Total Assets) * (Total Assets / Total Stockholders Equity)
= (6972 / 8948) * (8948 / 8248) * (8248 / 233768) * (233768 / 70023) * (70023 / 23453.5)
= Tax Burden * Interest Burden * Operating Margin % * Asset Turnover * Equity Multiplier
= 0.7792 * 1.0849 * 3.53 % * 3.3384 * 2.9856
=29.73 %

Note: The net income data used here is four times the quarterly (Feb. 2024) net income data. The Revenue data used here is four times the quarterly (Feb. 2024) revenue data. The same rule applies to Pre-Tax Income and Operating Income.
* In the five-step DuPont Analysis, Operating Income is only available for non-financial companies. Thus, for Insurance companies, we use EBIT as a substitution of Operating Income. For Banks, both Operating Income and EBIT is unavailable. Thus we combined Interest Burden and Operating Margin % into Pretax Margin %, and the DuPont Analysis is divided into four components instead.

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


Be Aware

Net Income is used.

Because a company can increase its ROE % by having more financial leverage, it is important to watch the equity multiplier when investing in high ROE % companies. Like ROA %, ROE % is calculated with only 12 months data. Fluctuations in company's earnings or business cycles can affect the ratio drastically. It is important to look at the ratio from a long term perspective.

Asset light businesses require very few assets to generate very high earnings. Their ROE %s can be extremely high.


Costco Wholesale ROE % Related Terms

Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of Costco Wholesale's ROE % provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.


Costco Wholesale (COST) Business Description

Address
999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA, USA, 98027
Costco operates a membership-based, no-frills retail model, predicated on offering a select product assortment in bulk quantities at bargain prices. The firm avoids maintaining costly product displays by keeping inventory on pallets and limits distribution expenses by storing its inventory at point of sale in the warehouse. Given Costco's frugal cost structure, the firm is able to price its merchandise below competing retailers, driving high sales volume per warehouse and allowing the retailer to generate strong profits on thin margins. Costco operates nearly 600 warehouses in the United States and boasts over 60% market share in the domestic warehouse club industry. Internationally, Costco operates another 270 warehouses, primarily in markets such as Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the U.K.
Executives
W Craig Jelinek officer: Executive VP 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Yoram Rubananko officer: Executive VP 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Caton Frates officer: Executive Vice President 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Daniel M. Hines other: Principal Acctg Officer 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Richard A Galanti director, officer: Executive VP and CFO 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Pierre Riel officer: EVP 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Russell D Miller officer: Executive Vice President 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Claudine Adamo officer: Executive Vice President 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
James C Klauer officer: Executive Vice President 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Patrick J Callans officer: Executive VP 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Helena Foulkes director ONE CVS DRIVE, WOONSOCKET RI 02895
Susan L Decker director C/O YAHOO INC, 701 FIRST AVE, SUNNYVALE CA 94089
Roland Michael Vachris officer: Executive VP 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
James P. Murphy officer: Executive VP 999 LAKE DRIVE, ISSAQUAH WA 98027
Kenneth D Denman director