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Costco Wholesale (COST) Return on Capital Employed (2016 - 2026)

Costco Wholesale filings provide 17 years of Return on Capital Employed readings, the most recent being 25.77% for Q1 2026.

  • On a quarterly basis, Return on Capital Employed fell 109.0% to 25.77% in Q1 2026 year-over-year; TTM through Feb 2026 was 25.77%, a 109.0% decrease, with the full-year FY2025 number at 28.56%, up 121.0% from a year prior.
  • Return on Capital Employed hit 25.77% in Q1 2026 for Costco Wholesale, down from 27.92% in the prior quarter.
  • In the past five years, Return on Capital Employed ranged from a high of 28.5% in Q4 2024 to a low of 22.31% in Q2 2023.
  • Median Return on Capital Employed over the past 5 years was 24.51% (2022), compared with a mean of 25.46%.
  • Biggest five-year swings in Return on Capital Employed: plummeted -163bps in 2023 and later skyrocketed 610bps in 2024.
  • Costco Wholesale's Return on Capital Employed stood at 24.51% in 2022, then decreased by -2bps to 24.13% in 2023, then rose by 18bps to 28.5% in 2024, then dropped by -2bps to 27.92% in 2025, then fell by -8bps to 25.77% in 2026.
  • The last three reported values for Return on Capital Employed were 25.77% (Q1 2026), 27.92% (Q4 2025), and 26.5% (Q3 2025) per Business Quant data.