Costco Wholesale (COST) Retained Earnings (2009 - 2026)
Costco Wholesale's Retained Earnings came in at $28.59 billion for fiscal Q4 2026 (quarter ended Aug 30, 2026), up 26.2% from $22.65 billion a year earlier.
Costco Wholesale (COST) Retained Earnings (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
Going back to fiscal Q4 2009, Costco Wholesale's Retained Earnings data covers 69 quarters.
- Retained Earnings carries a five-year compound annual growth rate of 19.6% (FY2021 to FY2026).
- Going back by fiscal year, Retained Earnings was $22.65 billion in FY2025 (+28.6%), $17.62 billion in FY2024 (-9.7%), $19.52 billion in FY2023 (+25.3%) and $15.59 billion in FY2022 (+33.6%).
- The fiscal Q4 2026 figure represents the highest quarterly Retained Earnings in data going back to fiscal Q4 2009.
- Year-over-year, Retained Earnings has increased for seven consecutive quarters, with growth averaging 23.8% over the last eight quarters.
- The fastest year-over-year change in Retained Earnings over five years came in fiscal Q2 2022 (growth of 38.0%), and the weakest in fiscal Q2 2024 (a decline of 13.6%).
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Retained Earnings (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | 936.34 Bn | 892.78 Bn | 49.13 Bn | 103.60 Bn |
| 2 | Costco Wholesale | 443.48 Bn | 366.76 Bn | 12.19 Bn | 28.59 Bn |
| 3 | Sysco | 39.33 Bn | 33.58 Bn | 4.13 Bn | 13.75 Bn |
| 4 | Kroger | 38.87 Bn | 25.03 Bn | 7.86 Bn | 29.95 Bn |
| 5 | Dollar General | 29.16 Bn | 23.84 Bn | 3.68 Bn | 5.13 Bn |
| 6 | Caseys General Stores | 25.71 Bn | 23.71 Bn | 1.24 Bn | 4.09 Bn |
| 7 | Dollar Tree | 23.91 Bn | 20.53 Bn | 2.10 Bn | 3.48 Bn |
| 8 | US Foods Holding | 22.37 Bn | 22.17 Bn | 1.92 Bn | 3.07 Bn |
| 9 | Tractor Supply | 17.05 Bn | 16.22 Bn | 1.68 Bn | 7.79 Bn |
| 10 | Performance Food | 15.11 Bn | 14.90 Bn | 2.17 Bn | 2.00 Bn |
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2026 | 28.59 Bn |
| May 10, 2026 | 26.48 Bn |
| Feb 15, 2026 | 25.12 Bn |
| Nov 23, 2025 | 23.87 Bn |
| Aug 31, 2025 | 22.65 Bn |
| May 11, 2025 | 20.89 Bn |
| Feb 16, 2025 | 19.77 Bn |
| Nov 24, 2024 | 18.70 Bn |
| Sep 1, 2024 | 17.62 Bn |
| May 12, 2024 | 15.99 Bn |
| Feb 18, 2024 | 14.98 Bn |
| Nov 26, 2023 | 20.50 Bn |
| Sep 3, 2023 | 19.52 Bn |
| May 7, 2023 | 18.04 Bn |
| Feb 12, 2023 | 17.34 Bn |
| Nov 20, 2022 | 16.41 Bn |
| Aug 28, 2022 | 15.59 Bn |
| May 8, 2022 | 14.29 Bn |
| Feb 13, 2022 | 13.47 Bn |
| Nov 21, 2021 | 12.61 Bn |
Costco Wholesale Retained Earnings 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=retained-earnings&ticker=COST&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
import requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "retained-earnings", "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=retained-earnings&ticker=COST&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();