Costco Beats Q3 Estimates as Membership Strength Drives Double-Digit Sales Surge

Costco Wholesale (Nasdaq: COST) delivered a stronger-than-expected fiscal third quarter on Thursday, topping Wall Street’s earnings and revenue forecasts on the back of robust membership growth and surging digital sales.

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The warehouse club giant reported net income of $2.19 billion, or $4.93 per diluted share, for the twelve weeks ended May 10, 2026 — comfortably ahead of the Zacks/Yahoo Finance consensus estimate of $4.91 and up 15% from $4.28 a year ago. Total revenue came in at $70.53 billion, including $1.37 billion in membership fees, against analyst expectations of approximately $69.50 billion. Net sales alone rose 11.6% year-over-year to $69.15 billion.

Comparable sales for the quarter grew 9.8% on a reported basis — or a still-solid 6.6% stripping out gasoline price swings and foreign exchange — with strength spread across all geographies: U.S. comps rose 9.4%, Canada 10.7%, and international markets 11.2%. Perhaps most strikingly, digitally-enabled sales surged 21.5%, signalling continued momentum in Costco’s e-commerce push.

Membership fee income of $1.37 billion grew 10.7% year-over-year, a key metric for a business model built on loyalty and renewal rates. Costco now operates 931 warehouses worldwide.

COST shares fell 0.9% during Thursday’s regular session to close around $995, but nudged back 0.4% higher in after-hours trading following the results. The stock has rallied roughly 19% so far in 2026.

For the first 36 weeks of fiscal 2026, net sales have grown 9.6% to $203.4 billion, with diluted EPS up 14% to $14.01.