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.

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.

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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.