Costco (CTO) Q4 2026 Earnings Report

The call was strongly positive overall. Costco reported double-digit sales and earnings growth, broad-based comparable-sales momentum, record or all-time-high performance in several operating and membership metrics, expanding digital engagement, and continued warehouse and infrastructure growth. The main challenges were lower reported gross margin, a significantly higher LIFO charge, membership-growth normalization, inflation and tariff uncertainty, and ongoing pharmacy pricing headwinds, but management described these issues as manageable and highlighted continued operating momentum.

Costco’s current plan is to open another 33 warehouses in fiscal year 2027, of which 5 are relocations, including 4 buildings in Europe, 5 in Canada, and 1 in Mexico, as it builds towards its goal of opening 30 net new warehouses per year; management also said it has a path for the next 5 to 10 years of targeting that 30 new warehouses a year, with a strong pipeline planned for Asia, Australia, and other international markets in fiscal year '28. The company is planning approximately $7.5 billion in capital expenditure for fiscal year 2027 and would expect to see a slowing in the rate of capital expenditure growth beyond fiscal year 2027 following 3 years of outsized growth that began in fiscal year 2025. Costco does not give guidance on particular membership metrics, but said the growth rate seen in recent quarters is probably more typical of what it would expect to see based on current new-member sign-ups and renewal-rate normalization; inflation is difficult to predict, with the company describing the recent environment as relatively stable and noting that the coming 6 to 12 months could be materially affected by the situation in the Middle East and tariffs.