Costco Wholesale (COST) Return on Capital Employed (2010 - 2026)

Costco Wholesale's Return on Capital Employed history runs 17 years deep, the most recent figure standing at 25.77% for Q1 2026.

• Quarterly Return on Capital Employed fell 109.0% year-over-year to 25.77% in Q1 2026, while the trailing twelve-month figure through Feb 2026 was 25.77% (down 109.0% YoY) and the FY2025 annual result came in at 28.56%, up 121.0% from the prior year.
• Return on Capital Employed was 25.77% for Q1 2026 at Costco Wholesale, down from 27.92% in the prior quarter.
• Across five years, Return on Capital Employed topped out at 28.5% in Q4 2024 and bottomed at 22.31% in Q2 2023.
• A 5-year average of 25.46% and a median of 24.51% in 2022 frame the typical range for Return on Capital Employed.
• Annual changes were most pronounced in 2023 — Return on Capital Employed plunged 163 bps — and 2024, when it surged 610 bps.
• Costco Wholesale's Return on Capital Employed stood at 24.51% in 2022, then decreased by 2 bps to 24.13% in 2023, then rose by 18 bps to 28.5% in 2024, then retreated by 2 bps to 27.92% in 2025, then slipped by 8 bps to 25.77% in 2026.
• Business Quant data shows COST's Return on Capital Employed at 25.77% in Q1 2026, 27.92% in Q4 2025, and 26.5% in Q3 2025.