Costco Wholesale (COST) Gross Margin (2009 - 2026)
Costco Wholesale (COST) recorded Gross Margin of 12.77% in fiscal Q3 2026 (quarter ended May 10, 2026), down 0.22 percentage points from 12.99% a year earlier but up 0.02 percentage points from the prior quarter.
Costco Wholesale (COST) Gross Margin (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a TTM basis, Costco Wholesale's Gross Margin came in at 12.88% as of May 10, 2026, up 0.10 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025 (ended Aug 31, 2025), it came in at 12.84%, up 0.23 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual Gross Margin has increased for three straight fiscal years, though with a five-year change of -0.24 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Across earlier fiscal years, Gross Margin came in at 12.61% in FY2024 (+0.35 pp), 12.26% in FY2023 (+0.11 pp), 12.15% in FY2022 (-0.74 pp) and 12.88% in FY2021 (-0.20 pp).
- Quarterly Gross Margin has ranged from 11.84% in fiscal Q4 2022 to 13.07% in fiscal Q1 2026 over the past five years.
- On a year-over-year basis, Gross Margin rose in seven of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.18 percentage points.
- Peak year-over-year performance for Gross Margin in the last five years was a gain of 0.48 percentage points in fiscal Q3 2024, against a drop of 1.08 percentage points in fiscal Q3 2022 at the low end.
- Per Business Quant, the preceding three fiscal quarters came in at 12.76% (Q2 2026), 13.07% (Q1 2026) and 12.91% (Q4 2025).
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Gross Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | 862.64 Bn | 825.34 Bn | 49.13 Bn | 26.14% |
| 2 | Costco Wholesale | 409.33 Bn | 338.62 Bn | 9.01 Bn | 12.77% |
| 3 | Sysco | 37.65 Bn | 31.90 Bn | 4.13 Bn | 18.69% |
| 4 | Kroger | 35.26 Bn | 21.42 Bn | 7.86 Bn | 22.70% |
| 5 | Dollar General | 27.43 Bn | 22.11 Bn | 3.68 Bn | 32.60% |
| 6 | Caseys General Stores | 22.41 Bn | 20.40 Bn | 1.24 Bn | 21.82% |
| 7 | Dollar Tree | 21.77 Bn | 18.40 Bn | 2.10 Bn | 42.91% |
| 8 | US Foods Holding | 20.27 Bn | 20.06 Bn | 1.92 Bn | 18.22% |
| 9 | Tractor Supply | 16.74 Bn | 15.90 Bn | 1.68 Bn | 37.05% |
| 10 | Performance Food | 14.36 Bn | 14.14 Bn | 2.17 Bn | 12.03% |
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| May 10, 2026 | 12.77% |
| Feb 15, 2026 | 12.76% |
| Nov 23, 2025 | 13.07% |
| Aug 31, 2025 | 12.91% |
| May 11, 2025 | 12.99% |
| Feb 16, 2025 | 12.52% |
| Nov 24, 2024 | 12.94% |
| Sep 1, 2024 | 12.68% |
| May 12, 2024 | 12.55% |
| Feb 18, 2024 | 12.49% |
| Nov 26, 2023 | 12.70% |
| Sep 3, 2023 | 12.31% |
| May 7, 2023 | 12.07% |
| Feb 12, 2023 | 12.38% |
| Nov 20, 2022 | 12.25% |
| Aug 28, 2022 | 11.84% |
| May 8, 2022 | 11.87% |
| Feb 13, 2022 | 12.31% |
| Nov 21, 2021 | 12.73% |
| Aug 29, 2021 | 12.67% |
Costco Wholesale Gross Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=gross-margin&ticker=COST&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "gross-margin", "ticker": "COST", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=gross-margin&ticker=COST&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();