Costco Wholesale (COST) Return on Sales [ROS] (2009 - 2026)
Costco Wholesale (COST) reported Return on Sales [ROS] of 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) Return on Sales [ROS] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
Over the twelve months ended May 10, 2026, Costco Wholesale's Return on Sales [ROS] came in at 3.82%, up 0.07 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025 (ended Aug 31, 2025), it came in at 3.77%, up 0.12 percentage points from FY2024.
- Return on Sales [ROS] has a five-year change of +0.51 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- By fiscal year, Return on Sales [ROS] came in at 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).
- Five-year quarterly Return on Sales [ROS] spans a low of 3.13% in fiscal Q3 2023 and a high of 4.00% in fiscal Q3 2025.
- Year over year, Return on Sales [ROS] gained in seven of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +0.13 percentage points.
- The high point for year-over-year Return on Sales [ROS] in five years was fiscal Q3 2024 (a gain of 0.62 percentage points); the low point was fiscal Q3 2023 (a drop of 0.28 percentage points).
- Per Business Quant data, the three fiscal quarters before Q3 2026 came in at 3.74% (Q2 2026), 3.66% (Q1 2026) and 3.88% (Q4 2025).
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROS (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | 827.17 Bn | 789.87 Bn | 49.13 Bn | 4.99% |
| 2 | Costco Wholesale | 408.32 Bn | 337.62 Bn | 9.01 Bn | 3.99% |
| 3 | Sysco | 37.11 Bn | 31.36 Bn | 4.13 Bn | 4.44% |
| 4 | Kroger | 34.86 Bn | 21.01 Bn | 7.86 Bn | 2.80% |
| 5 | Dollar General | 26.24 Bn | 20.91 Bn | 3.68 Bn | 6.81% |
| 6 | Caseys General Stores | 22.83 Bn | 20.83 Bn | 1.24 Bn | 8.54% |
| 7 | Dollar Tree | 21.05 Bn | 17.67 Bn | 2.10 Bn | 14.11% |
| 8 | US Foods Holding | 20.97 Bn | 20.76 Bn | 1.92 Bn | 4.21% |
| 9 | Tractor Supply | 16.22 Bn | 15.39 Bn | 1.68 Bn | 10.29% |
| 10 | Performance Food | 14.65 Bn | 14.43 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 Return on Sales [ROS] 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=return-on-sales-%5Bros%5D&ticker=COST&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-sales-[ros]", "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=return-on-sales-%5Bros%5D&ticker=COST&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();