Costco Wholesale (COST) Shares Outstanding (Basic Average): 444 Mil (As of May. 2026)

Costco Wholesale  (NAS:COST) Shares Outstanding (Basic Average) Explanation

A company may buy back shares or issue shares in any fiscal period. If a company buys back shares, we should observe that the total number of shares decline. If the company issues new shares, the number of shares outstanding increases.

Be Aware

Usually the presence of treasury shares and a history of buyback are good indicators that company has competitive advantage. But studies have shown that companies usually buy back at wrong time. Buying back shares below its intrinsic value increases value for remaining shareholders. Buying back overvalued shares destroys value for existing shareholders.

Costco Wholesale Shares Outstanding (Basic Average) Related Terms

The historical data trend for Costco Wholesale's Shares Outstanding (Basic Average) 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.

Costco Wholesale Shares Outstanding (Basic Average) Chart

Costco Wholesale Annual Data
	Trend	Aug16	Aug17	Aug18	Aug19	Aug20	Aug21	Aug22	Aug23	Aug24	Aug25
Shares Outstanding (Basic Average)		Get a 7-Day Free Trial					443.09	443.65	443.85	443.91	443.99

Costco Wholesale Quarterly Data
	Aug21	Nov21	Feb22	May22	Aug22	Nov22	Feb23	May23	Aug23	Nov23	Feb24	May24	Aug24	Nov24	Feb25	May25	Aug25	Nov25	Feb26	May26
Shares Outstanding (Basic Average)	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															443.96	444.01	443.96	443.95	443.92

Costco Wholesale Shares Outstanding (Basic Average) Calculation

Shares outstanding are shares that have been authorized, issued, and purchased by investors and are held by them. They have voting rights and represent ownership in the corporation by the person that holds the shares. They should be distinguished from treasury shares, which are shares held by the corporation itself, having no exercisable rights.

Shares outstanding can be calculated as either basic or fully diluted. The fully diluted shares outstanding count includes diluting securities, such as options, warrants or convertibles.

Please note: GuruFocus named Shares Outstanding (EOP) is the shares for that exact time point. It is usually used to calculate balance sheet related items, such as Book Value per Share, etc. While Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) and Shares Outstanding (Basic Average) are the weighted average shares over a period of time (a year, a quarter, or so). They are usually used to calculate income statement or cashflow statement related items, such as Earnings per Share (Diluted), etc.

Costco Wholesale Business Description