Costco Wholesale Corp. COST

What this company does

Costco operates membership warehouses in the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Sweden, Iceland and New Zealand. It operated 914 warehouses worldwide at August 31, 2025. At the end of 2025 it employed 341,000 employees worldwide, approximately 95% of them in membership warehouses and distribution channels. Merchandise and services are offered in core categories of Foods and Sundries, Non-Foods and Fresh Foods, in warehouse ancillary operations such as gasoline, pharmacy, optical, food court, hearing aids and tire installation, and in other businesses including e-commerce, business centers and travel. Each warehouse carries fewer than 4,000 active stock keeping units in the core warehouse business. Gas stations numbered 747 at the end of 2025, and gasoline represented approximately 10% of total net sales. The annual membership fee is $65 in the U.S. and varies in other countries, with an Executive membership available there for an additional annual fee of $65. Costco began operations in 1983, in Seattle, Washington.

Written from the business description in COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW's annual report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, filed 8 October 2025. Every sentence was checked against that document before publication.