Q2 2026 Costco Wholesale Corp Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) reported a 14% increase in net income for the second quarter, reaching $2.035 billion or $4.58 per diluted share.
- Net sales for the second quarter rose by 9.1% to $68.24 billion, with comparable sales up 7.4% adjusted for gas price deflation and FX.
- Membership fee income increased by 13.6% year-over-year, driven by growth in the membership base and upgrades to executive memberships.
- Costco opened 4 new warehouses, bringing the total to 924 worldwide, and plans to open 28 net new locations in fiscal year 2026.
- Digital sales saw significant growth, with digitally enabled comparable sales up 22.6%, and enhancements in digital personalization driving e-commerce sales growth.
- The renewal rate for U.S. and Canada memberships declined by 10 basis points, attributed to lower renewal rates among new online members.
- Gross margin was negatively impacted by a $12 million LIFO charge, compared to a $12 million credit in the previous year.
- SG&A expenses increased by 13 basis points year-over-year, partly due to higher general liability reserves for prior year claims.
- Gasoline sales experienced mid-single-digit declines due to price deflation, impacting overall sales growth.
- The situation in the Middle East poses potential risks to fuel costs and shipping schedules, which could affect future operations.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. My name is Abby, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Costco Wholesale Corporation Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] And I would now like to turn the conference over to Gary Millerchip, Chief Financial Officer. You may begin.
.
Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Costco's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. In addition to covering our second quarter financial results today, we will also review our February sales results.
I'd like to start by reminding you that these discussions will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results and our performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. The risks and uncertainties
| Access to All Earning Calls and Stock Analysis | |
| 30-Year Financial on one screen | |
| All-in-one Stock Screener with unlimited filters | |
| Customizable Stock Dashboard | |
| Real Time Insider Trading Transactions | |
| 8,000+ Institutional investors’ 13F holdings | |
| Powerful Excel Add-in and Google sheets Add-on | |
| All data downloadable | |
| Quick customer support | |
| And much more... |
Trustpilot
We'd love to learn more about your experiences on GuruFocus.com and how we can improve!
Take Survey
