COST Stock Traders Shrug Off Q4 EPS Beat, Watch Core Sales Pace And Trump Tariff Refund Use

Costco’s comparable sales rose 9.4%, or 6.7% excluding gasoline prices and currency in Q4.

• CFO Gary Millerchip said adjusted comps excluding gas have sat in a 6%-7% range for about a year, and the company feels good about the trajectory. 
• The warehouse club posted net income of $2.998 billion, or $6.75 a share, for the 16 weeks ended Aug. 30, up from $2.610 billion, or $5.87, a year earlier.
• Costco put Trump tariff refunds to lower prices in the quarter.

Shares of Costco Wholesale (COST) traded flat after hours on Thursday as fiscal fourth-quarter results beat earnings estimates, but investors stayed focused on the company’s familiar mid-single-digit comparable sales pace once gasoline prices and currency swings are stripped out.

The warehouse club posted net income of $2.998 billion, or $6.75 a share, for the 16 weeks ended Aug. 30, up from $2.610 billion, or $5.87 a share, a year earlier, and above an estimated $6.52 per share. Results included a non-recurring $0.15-a-share benefit from Trump’s tariff refunds, after Costco put some of that cash back into lower prices.

Excluding the net refund, profit and earnings per share rose 12.3% and 12.4%. Net sales rose 11.2% to $93.9 billion. Total revenue, including $1.85 billion of membership fees, was $95.72 billion. Comparable sales rose 9.4%, or 6.7% excluding gasoline prices and currency.

Value Over A One-Off Refund

CFO Gary Millerchip said on the company’s post-earnings call that members still spend on discretionary goods when the item and price are right. Adjusted comps excluding gas have sat in a 6%-7% range for about a year, and he said Costco feels good about that trajectory. Pharmacy sales in the quarter grew nearly 20%, and gas volumes set a record.

Price cuts funded by tariff refunds were framed as giving value back, not a demand rescue. Costco received $184 million of refunds and interest in the quarter—a little more than one-third of the total expected—and has already taken in a similar amount in fiscal 2027’s first quarter. It plans to reinvest most of it, management said.

Physical Store And Digital Expansion

CEO Ron Vachris said Costco ended fiscal 2026 with 939 warehouses worldwide after opening 28 buildings and relocating three, a net gain of 25. 

Next year, it plans 33 openings, including five relocations, as it works toward a pace of about 30 net new clubs a year. The mix will include first-time U.S. markets such as Buffalo, N.Y., and Lawrence, Kan., plus infills in older markets. Internationally, fiscal 2027 calls for four warehouses in Europe, five in Canada and one in Mexico, with more sites lined up for Asia, Australia and other countries in fiscal 2028. The company plans approximately $7.5 billion in capital expenditure for FY27.

Online and third-party delivery sales topped $33 billion for the year, up more than 20%. Costco is expanding Uber Eats from 17 states to the entire U.S. and adding DoorDash nationwide, on top of its long-running Instacart service in the U.S. and Canada. Shoppers on the new apps skew younger than the typical member, and deliveries usually arrive in under an hour. Management said those orders look mostly additive so far, with little hit to in-warehouse grocery sales.

Membership Growth

Paid memberships reached 84.1 million, up 3.8%. Executive members hit 42.3 million, up 9.4%. U.S. and Canada renewals were 92.3%. 

Members under 40 now make up more than a quarter of the base. 

How Did COST Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around COST stock jumped from bullish to extremely bullish territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume increased from normal to high levels.

A Stocktwits user applauded the earnings as a “SOLID STORY” and “real business.”

View this Stocktwits post

Another, however, asked what happens to the company’s earnings when tariff refunds cease.

View this Stocktwits post

COST stock has gained 4% year-to-date. 

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