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Costco key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2026, Costco had return on equity of 28.4%, an operating margin of 3.9%, debt equal to 17.2% of equity and a current ratio of 1.06. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2010Aug 20102011Aug 20112012Sept 20122013Sept 20132014Aug 20142015Aug 20152016Aug 20162017Sept 20172018Sept 20182019Sept 20192020Aug 20202021Aug 20212022Aug 20222023Sept 20232024Sept 20242025Aug 20252026Aug 2026
Gross margin——————13.3%13.3%13.0%10.8%13.1%12.9%12.1%12.3%12.6%12.8%12.8%
Operating margin2.7%2.7%2.8%2.9%2.9%3.1%3.1%3.2%3.2%3.1%3.3%3.4%3.4%3.3%3.6%3.8%3.9%
Net margin1.7%1.6%1.7%1.9%1.8%2.0%2.0%2.1%2.2%2.4%2.4%2.6%2.6%2.6%2.9%2.9%3.0%
Free-cash-flow margin2.2%2.1%1.6%1.3%1.8%1.6%0.5%3.3%2.0%2.2%3.6%2.7%1.5%2.8%2.6%2.8%3.1%
Return on equity12.0%12.8%14.0%17.6%17.8%20.7%20.7%23.4%26.6%26.1%23.9%27.9%30.6%27.5%30.3%30.7%28.4%
Return on assets5.5%5.8%6.3%7.1%6.5%7.2%7.1%7.7%8.1%8.5%7.9%8.7%9.5%9.5%10.6%11.0%11.1%
Asset turnover3.273.523.683.663.583.543.593.713.673.543.303.413.683.643.673.753.65
Current ratio1.161.141.101.191.221.010.980.991.021.011.131.001.021.070.971.031.06
Debt to equity20.0%17.9%11.2%46.5%41.4%57.8%42.8%62.2%51.7%45.0%41.9%43.1%32.2%25.9%25.1%19.9%17.2%
Interest cover (operating income ÷ interest)18.7x21.0x29.0x30.8x28.5x29.2x27.6x30.7x28.2x31.6x34.0x39.2x49.3x50.7x54.9x67.4x80.6x
Effective tax rate35.6%35.3%36.1%32.4%34.7%33.2%34.3%32.8%28.4%22.3%24.4%24.0%24.6%25.9%24.4%25.1%24.7%
SG&A as % of revenue10.1%9.8%9.6%9.6%9.7%9.8%10.2%10.0%9.8%9.8%9.8%9.5%8.7%8.9%9.0%9.1%9.0%
Capital spending as % of revenue1.4%1.5%1.5%2.0%1.8%2.1%2.2%1.9%2.1%2.0%1.7%1.8%1.7%1.8%1.9%2.0%2.1%
Free cash flow ÷ net income132.4%130.5%92.3%66.4%96.7%79.6%27.4%157.7%89.5%91.8%151.2%107.2%59.9%107.2%90.0%96.8%101.7%
Dividends ÷ net income25.9%26.6%26.1%174.6%28.4%120.5%31.7%145.7%22.0%28.4%37.0%114.8%25.6%19.9%122.7%27.0%26.6%
Dividends and buybacks ÷ free cash flow51.5%53.1%68.4%265.6%46.1%176.8%191.6%103.5%36.3%38.3%27.7%116.3%55.3%28.6%146.9%39.4%35.2%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

7 of 7 checks passed · August 30, 2026
What it owns · $89.0bn
Short-term assets $46.6bnLonger-term assets $42.5bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $89.0bn
Short-term liabilities $44.0bnLonger-term liabilities $9.3bnShareholders' equity $35.8bn
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $46.6bn of assets due within a year against $44.0bn of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $46.6bn short-term assets against $9.3bn of longer-dated liabilities.
  • More cash than debt $20.2bn of cash against $6.2bn of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 17% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 34% to 17% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $15.8bn of operating cash flow against $6.2bn of debt.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Operating income of $11.7bn against $145m of interest.

From Costco's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

58 /100

Moderate moat

How hard Costco's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 17 / 20

    Cash operating profit has been a median 13.2% of total assets over 8 years.

  • Pricing power 8 / 20

    Gross margin has been a median 12.7%, moving by 0.7 percentage points (standard deviation) across 8 years.

  • Durability 10 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 3.4%; its worst year was 3.1%.

  • Cash conversion 11 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 10 of 10 years, at a median 2.8% of revenue.

  • Discipline 17 / 20

    The diluted share count rose 0.0% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 0.3% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Medium. In this industry, AI could change how the product is made or sold, without replacing the core asset. The score above includes a 5-point deduction for that exposure (63 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

Head to head: COST vs WMTCOST vs TGTCOST vs DG

More: Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail stocks compared, Consumer Staples sector, rankings of US companies

Figures from Costco's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 20, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Costco.