Costco Wholesale (COST) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026)
Costco Wholesale's Operating Margin came in at 3.99% for fiscal Q3 2026 (quarter ended May 10, 2026), down 0.01 percentage points from 4.00% a year earlier but up 0.25 percentage points from the prior quarter.
Costco Wholesale (COST) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
Over the trailing twelve months to May 10, 2026, Costco Wholesale reported Operating Margin of 3.82%, up 0.07 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025 (ended Aug 31, 2025), it was 3.77%, up 0.12 percentage points from FY2024.
- Operating Margin carries a five-year change of +0.51 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Going back by fiscal year, Operating Margin was 3.65% in FY2024 (+0.30 pp), 3.35% in FY2023 (-0.08 pp), 3.43% in FY2022 (+0.01 pp) and 3.42% in FY2021 (+0.16 pp).
- The five-year range for quarterly Operating Margin is 3.13% (fiscal Q3 2023) to 4.00% (fiscal Q3 2025).
- Year-over-year, Operating Margin increased in seven of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.13 percentage points.
- The fastest year-over-year change in Operating Margin over five years came in fiscal Q3 2024 (a gain of 0.62 percentage points), and the weakest in fiscal Q3 2023 (a drop of 0.28 percentage points).
- Business Quant data shows COST's Operating Margin at 3.74% (Q2 2026), 3.66% (Q1 2026) and 3.88% (Q4 2025) in the three fiscal quarters before Q3 2026.
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | 862.64 Bn | 825.34 Bn | 49.13 Bn | 4.99% |
| 2 | Costco Wholesale | 409.33 Bn | 338.62 Bn | 9.01 Bn | 3.99% |
| 3 | Sysco | 37.65 Bn | 31.90 Bn | 4.13 Bn | 4.44% |
| 4 | Kroger | 35.26 Bn | 21.42 Bn | 7.86 Bn | 2.80% |
| 5 | Dollar General | 27.43 Bn | 22.11 Bn | 3.68 Bn | 6.81% |
| 6 | Caseys General Stores | 22.41 Bn | 20.40 Bn | 1.24 Bn | 8.54% |
| 7 | Dollar Tree | 21.77 Bn | 18.40 Bn | 2.10 Bn | 14.11% |
| 8 | US Foods Holding | 20.27 Bn | 20.06 Bn | 1.92 Bn | 4.21% |
| 9 | Tractor Supply | 16.74 Bn | 15.90 Bn | 1.68 Bn | 10.29% |
| 10 | Performance Food | 14.36 Bn | 14.14 Bn | 2.17 Bn | 1.80% |
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| May 10, 2026 | 3.99% |
| Feb 15, 2026 | 3.74% |
| Nov 23, 2025 | 3.66% |
| Aug 31, 2025 | 3.88% |
| May 11, 2025 | 4.00% |
| Feb 16, 2025 | 3.63% |
| Nov 24, 2024 | 3.53% |
| Sep 1, 2024 | 3.82% |
| May 12, 2024 | 3.75% |
| Feb 18, 2024 | 3.53% |
| Nov 26, 2023 | 3.43% |
| Sep 3, 2023 | 3.52% |
| May 7, 2023 | 3.13% |
| Feb 12, 2023 | 3.44% |
| Nov 20, 2022 | 3.22% |
| Aug 28, 2022 | 3.46% |
| May 8, 2022 | 3.41% |
| Feb 13, 2022 | 3.49% |
| Nov 21, 2021 | 3.36% |
| Aug 29, 2021 | 3.63% |
Costco Wholesale Operating 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=operating-margin&ticker=COST&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-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=operating-margin&ticker=COST&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();