COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW

Overview

Costco Wholesale Corporation is a membership-based warehouse retailer and e-commerce operator founded in 1983 in Seattle, Washington. Its core business is built around selling a limited selection of nationally branded and private-label products to members at low prices, using high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover to support the model. The company’s merchandise mix is broadly organized around foods and sundries, non-foods, and fresh foods, and its warehouse network is complemented by ancillary businesses and services such as gasoline, pharmacy, optical, food courts, hearing aids, tire installation, travel, and business centers.[1]+6

Costco states that its strategy is to provide members with a broad range of high-quality merchandise at prices it believes are consistently lower than elsewhere, and it links this member focus to a code of ethics centered on taking care of employees and members.[3][8] The company operates warehouses in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the U.K., Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden, with e-commerce operations in several of those markets.[1][9] As of September 1, 2024, Costco operated 890 warehouses worldwide and employed 333,000 people globally. For fiscal 2024, it reported net sales of $249.6 billion and total revenue of $254.5 billion.[9]+3 [1]+11

Products & services

Costco’s product assortment is deliberately narrow relative to broadline retailers: it carries fewer than 4,000 active SKUs in its core warehouse business and about 9,000 to 10,000 SKUs online, and many consumables are sold only in case, carton, or multi-pack quantities. Its merchandise is grouped into Foods and Sundries, which include sundries, dry grocery, candy, cooler and freezer items, deli, liquor, and tobacco; Non-Foods, which include major appliances, small electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, lawn and garden, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal merchandise, office supplies, automotive items, apparel, furniture, housewares, jewelry, and special-order kiosk items; and Fresh Foods, which include meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products. Costco also sells a large private-label range under the Kirkland Signature brand, which it describes as high quality and generally lower priced than comparable national brands, with private-label products representing a growing share of sales.[13]+5

Its warehouse ancillary offerings include gasoline, pharmacy, optical, food court, hearing aids, and tire installation. Costco Pharmacy offers prescription refills and management, mail-order services, delivery options, pet medications, and immunizations; Costco Optical offers prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, sunglasses, and eye exams; the Hearing Aid Center offers free hearing tests and service appointments; and tire installation includes rotation, balancing, nitrogen tire inflation, and warranty coverage for mileage, road hazard, and manufacturer defects. On certain electronics, Costco typically offers a 90-day return policy, free technical support services, and an extended warranty, with additional third-party warranty coverage available on some items.[19]+7

Costco also sells products and services through e-commerce, business centers, and travel. Its business centers are tailored to food-service operators, convenience stores, and offices, and feature items such as commercial appliances, individually wrapped snacks, expanded beverage assortments, and larger-quantity food and grocery products, with both walk-in shopping and delivery. Costco Travel offers vacation packages, car rentals, cruises, hotels, and related travel products for members. Where quantified, gasoline represented approximately 12% of 2024 total net sales, e-commerce represented about 7%, and digitally originated sales including e-commerce, business delivery, travel, and same-day grocery represented about 9%.[26]+5 [13]+18

Geographic presence

Costco’s operations are concentrated in North America but extend across multiple international markets. As of August 31, 2025, it operated membership warehouses in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the U.K., Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Sweden, Iceland, and New Zealand, and it operated e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. Costco organizes its reportable segments geographically as United States, Canada, and Other International.[31]+2

At August 31, 2025, Costco operated 914 warehouses, including 629 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 110 in Canada, and 175 in Other International. Its warehouses contained about 134.7 million square feet of operating floor space, split between 93.6 million square feet in the U.S., 15.9 million in Canada, and 25.2 million in Other International.[34]+2

In fiscal 2025, Costco generated $275.2 billion of total revenue, with $200.0 billion from the U.S., $36.9 billion from Canada, and $38.3 billion from Other International, or roughly 73%, 13%, and 14% of total revenue, respectively. Costco also states that its international operations, including Canada, generated 27% of net sales and 34% of operating income in 2025. At year-end 2025, it employed 341,000 people worldwide, including 223,000 in the U.S., 55,000 in Canada, and 63,000 in Other International. Its principal executive offices are in Issaquah, Washington.[37]+5 [31]+10

Business segments

Costco’s officially reported operating segments are geographic: United States, Canada, and Other International. The company says its reportable segments are organized for operational decision-making and performance assessment based on geographic locations, and its warehouse network spans the U.S., Canada, and other international markets including Mexico, Japan, the U.K., Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden.[12][1] In FY2024, these segments contributed approximately 72.4% of total revenue from the United States, 13.7% from Canada, and 13.9% from Other International.[42]

Costco also provides a separate sales disaggregation by merchandise category, which is not the operating-segment basis but is another important internal view of the business. Its core merchandise categories are Foods and Sundries; Non-Foods; Fresh Foods; and Warehouse Ancillary and Other Businesses.[4][43] Foods and Sundries includes sundries, dry grocery, candy, cooler/freezer items, deli, liquor, and tobacco; Non-Foods includes categories such as appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, sporting goods, apparel, furniture, housewares, and jewelry; Fresh Foods includes meat, produce, service deli, and bakery; and Warehouse Ancillary and Other Businesses includes gasoline, pharmacy, optical, food court, hearing aids, tire installation, plus e-commerce, business centers, travel, and other operations.[14]+4 Based on FY2024 net sales, these categories represented about 40.6% for Foods and Sundries, 25.6% for Non-Foods, 13.7% for Fresh Foods, and 20.0% for Warehouse Ancillary and Other Businesses.[44] [12]+10

Company history

Costco’s history grew out of the warehouse-club model pioneered by Price Club: the company’s earliest roots date to 1976, when the first Price Club location opened in San Diego, and the first Costco warehouse opened in Seattle in 1983.[45] Costco then went public on December 5, 1985.[46]

A major turning point came in October 1993, when Costco merged with The Price Company to form Price/Costco, Inc.[47] Costco introduced its Kirkland Signature private-label brand in 1995.[48] After the spin-off of most non-warehouse assets, the company changed its name to Costco Companies, Inc. in January 1997, and on August 30, 1999, it reincorporated in Washington and adopted the name Costco Wholesale Corporation.[47] In a later leadership transition, Craig Jelinek was elevated to president and chief operating officer in 2010 and became president and chief executive officer on January 1, 2012, succeeding Jim Sinegal.[49][50] [47]+5

Sources

• COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW — Full financial report (2024 Y)
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• productsupport.costco.com[25]
• www.costco.com[28]
• www.costcotravel.com[30]
• COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW — Full financial report (2025 Y)
  11 citations

  [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]
• www.costco.com[45]
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• COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW — Full financial report (2010 Y)[47]
• www.costco.com[48]
• www.sec.gov[49]
• www.sec.gov[50]