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Costco Sales Surge: What Its Growth Says About Shoppers’ Shift Toward Value

Costco’s FY2026 net sales rose 10.1%, but the figures do not prove that value-seeking alone drove the increase. Here’s how to interpret sales, comparable growth and shopper commentary.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read

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Costco’s fiscal 2026 sales rose 10.1% to $297.2 billion, while comparable sales increased 8.4%. The results are consistent with shoppers seeking value, and retailer commentary describes more price-sensitive behavior. But Costco’s figures do not show that a nationwide shift toward value caused its growth: the company points to shopping frequency, average spending per visit, new warehouses and measurement effects as relevant factors.

How much did Costco sales grow?

For the 52 weeks ended August 30, 2026, Costco reported $297.2 billion in net sales, up 10.1% from $269.9 billion in fiscal 2025. Costco reported the annual results on September 24, 2026.

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Net sales include sales from the company’s warehouse and digitally enabled businesses, including newer locations. Comparable sales offer a different view: they measure sales at warehouses and digitally enabled businesses operating for more than a year, so they exclude the contribution from newer locations under Costco’s method.

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Measure Fiscal 2026 change
Total-company comparable sales Up 8.4% reported; up 6.6% excluding gasoline-price and foreign-exchange effects
U.S. comparable sales Up 8.2% reported; up 6.6% excluding gasoline-price and foreign-exchange effects

The adjusted figures remove the effects of gasoline-price changes and foreign exchange; they are not measures of growth after accounting for all inflation. Costco says gasoline prices and currency movements can affect comparisons. The 10.1% increase in net sales and the comparable-sales rates are revenue measures, not evidence by themselves of how much more merchandise customers bought.

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Does the growth show Americans are shifting spending toward value?

It fits that explanation, but does not prove it. In May 2026, Axios described shoppers as continuing to spend while becoming choosier amid pressure from fuel and other costs. Burlington CEO Michael O’Sullivan told Axios, “The customer is voting for value.” The report also noted that shoppers may still choose discretionary or higher-end items when they see compelling value.

Associated Press reporting in 2026 described consumers changing fuel routines and reconsidering discretionary spending as costs rose. Costco CFO Gary Millerchip said members were making more frequent fuel-station visits to “top up in between what would have normally been a gap between getting the tank to empty because of the concern about what might the gas price be tomorrow.” These are observations about shopper behavior, not a causal estimate of what drove Costco’s full-year sales.

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Costco’s own results do not isolate the effect of value-seeking. A retailer can gain sales because customers visit more often, spend more per trip, shop at newly opened locations, or respond to price changes; sales can also rise without a matching increase in units sold. The available figures do not assign a share of FY2026 growth to any one cause.

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What factors can help explain Costco’s sales growth?

Shopping frequency and average ticket

In its FY2025 annual report, Costco said comparable sales rose 6%, reflecting a 5% increase in shopping frequency and approximately 1% growth in average ticket. Those figures explain FY2025, not FY2026; they should not be presented as a breakdown of the latest year’s growth.

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New warehouses

Costco said sales at 24 net new warehouses contributed to total net-sales growth in FY2025. New locations can lift total company sales even though they are not yet included in comparable-sales calculations. That FY2025 explanation is useful context, but it is not a quantified account of FY2026 growth.

Digitally enabled sales

Costco’s FY2026 Form 10-K says digitally enabled sales accounted for 11% of net sales. Costco’s definition includes purchases initiated through a digital device and fulfilled through a warehouse or distribution center, as well as Costco Travel. It is therefore broader than orders shipped directly to a customer.

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What do membership figures add to the picture?

Executive members represented approximately 75.2% of worldwide net sales in FY2026, according to Costco’s annual filing. Executive rewards are generally 2% on qualified purchases, subject to an annual maximum. The sales share indicates the importance of this membership tier to the company’s sales mix; it does not establish why those members spent more or how much of the year’s growth came from rewards.

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How to read the headline numbers

  • Net sales show total company revenue and include contributions from newer warehouses.
  • Comparable sales focus on locations and digitally enabled businesses operating for more than one year.
  • Reported and adjusted comps answer different questions: adjusted growth excludes gasoline-price and foreign-exchange impacts, not general inflation.
  • Shopper commentary offers context for value-seeking behavior, but does not establish that this behavior caused Costco’s annual growth.

These are Costco’s FY2026 annual results, reported September 24, 2026. Later quarterly or annual results may change the picture.

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