Q3 2026 Costco Wholesale Corp Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) achieved record-breaking gas volumes in Q3, setting successive all-time company volume sales records.
- Net income for the third quarter increased by 15% year-over-year, reaching $2.192 billion.
- Comparable sales were up 9.8%, with digitally enabled comparable sales increasing by 21.5%.
- Membership fee income rose by 10.7% year-over-year, driven by growth in the membership base and upgrades to executive memberships.
- Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) is making significant strides in digital enhancements, including improvements to the mobile wallet and the introduction of same-day delivery services in Spain and France.
- The gross margin rate decreased by 21 basis points year-over-year, impacted by lower margins in fresh and food and sundries.
- Transportation costs were a headwind in the quarter due to higher gas prices.
- The company experienced a slowdown in year-over-year membership growth, attributed to a lack of new warehouse openings in major new markets.
- SG&A expenses were impacted by higher healthcare costs and legal settlements, leading to a slight deleverage.
- Inflation increased slightly in Q3, largely due to higher gas prices, with potential further inflation expected in non-food categories.
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's third-quarter 2026 earnings call.
(Operator Instructions)
Thank you. 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 third-quarter 2026 earnings call. 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/or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those outlined in today's call as well as other risks identified from time to
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