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Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST)

Common-Size Income Statement
Quarterly Data

Costco Wholesale Corp., common-size consolidated income statement (quarterly data)

Microsoft Excel
3 months ended: Aug 30, 2026 May 10, 2026 Feb 15, 2026 Nov 23, 2025 Aug 31, 2025 May 11, 2025 Feb 16, 2025 Nov 24, 2024 Sep 1, 2024 May 12, 2024 Feb 18, 2024 Nov 26, 2023 Sep 3, 2023 May 7, 2023 Feb 12, 2023 Nov 20, 2022 Aug 28, 2022 May 8, 2022 Feb 13, 2022 Nov 21, 2021 Aug 29, 2021 May 9, 2021 Feb 14, 2021 Nov 22, 2020
Net sales 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Merchandise costs -88.98 -88.96 -88.98 -88.68 -88.87 -88.75 -89.15 -88.73 -89.00 -89.16 -89.20 -88.96 -89.40 -89.68 -89.28 -89.39 -89.82 -89.81 -89.36 -88.94 -89.08 -88.82 -89.04 -88.45
Gross margin 11.02% 11.04% 11.02% 11.32% 11.13% 11.25% 10.85% 11.27% 11.00% 10.84% 10.80% 11.04% 10.60% 10.32% 10.72% 10.61% 10.18% 10.19% 10.64% 11.06% 10.92% 11.18% 10.96% 11.55%
Membership fees 1.97 1.99 1.99 2.01 2.04 2.00 1.91 1.91 1.93 1.96 1.94 1.91 1.95 1.98 1.89 1.87 1.88 1.91 1.90 1.91 2.01 2.03 2.01 2.03
Selling, general and administrative -8.94 -8.96 -9.19 -9.60 -9.21 -9.16 -9.06 -9.59 -9.04 -8.96 -9.14 -9.45 -8.96 -9.11 -9.11 -9.20 -8.53 -8.62 -8.98 -9.55 -9.22 -9.46 -9.91 -10.20
Operating income 4.05% 4.07% 3.82% 3.73% 3.96% 4.08% 3.70% 3.60% 3.89% 3.83% 3.60% 3.50% 3.59% 3.19% 3.51% 3.28% 3.53% 3.47% 3.56% 3.43% 3.70% 3.75% 3.05% 3.38%
Interest expense -0.05 -0.05 -0.05 -0.05 -0.05 -0.06 -0.06 -0.06 -0.06 -0.07 -0.07 -0.07 -0.07 -0.07 -0.06 -0.06 -0.07 -0.07 -0.07 -0.08 -0.08 -0.09 -0.09 -0.09
Interest income and other, net 0.27 0.22 0.22 0.23 0.25 0.14 0.23 0.24 0.15 0.22 0.38 0.28 0.31 0.24 0.21 0.10 0.09 0.14 0.05 0.08 0.11 0.06 0.04 0.07
Other income (expense) 0.22% 0.18% 0.17% 0.18% 0.20% 0.08% 0.17% 0.18% 0.09% 0.15% 0.31% 0.22% 0.24% 0.17% 0.15% 0.04% 0.03% 0.07% -0.02% 0.01% 0.03% -0.03% -0.05% -0.02%
Income before income taxes 4.27% 4.25% 3.99% 3.91% 4.16% 4.16% 3.87% 3.78% 3.98% 3.98% 3.90% 3.71% 3.83% 3.37% 3.66% 3.31% 3.56% 3.54% 3.54% 3.43% 3.73% 3.72% 3.01% 3.35%
Provision for income taxes -1.08 -1.08 -1.01 -0.88 -1.07 -1.09 -1.01 -0.83 -0.97 -1.05 -0.86 -0.91 -1.04 -0.89 -0.95 -0.76 -0.90 -0.88 -0.94 -0.71 -0.97 -0.94 -0.79 -0.56
Net income including noncontrolling interests 3.19% 3.17% 2.98% 3.03% 3.09% 3.07% 2.86% 2.95% 3.01% 2.93% 3.04% 2.80% 2.79% 2.48% 2.70% 2.55% 2.65% 2.66% 2.59% 2.72% 2.76% 2.78% 2.21% 2.79%
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.01 -0.04 -0.04 -0.04 -0.04 -0.03 -0.05 -0.04
Net income attributable to Costco 3.19% 3.17% 2.98% 3.03% 3.09% 3.07% 2.86% 2.95% 3.01% 2.93% 3.04% 2.80% 2.79% 2.48% 2.70% 2.55% 2.64% 2.62% 2.55% 2.68% 2.72% 2.75% 2.17% 2.75%

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2026-08-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2026-05-10), 10-Q (reporting date: 2026-02-15), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-11-23), 10-K (reporting date: 2025-08-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-05-11), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-02-16), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-11-24), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-09-01), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-05-12), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-02-18), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-11-26), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-09-03), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-05-07), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-02-12), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-11-20), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-08-28), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-05-08), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-02-13), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-11-21), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-08-29), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-05-09), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-02-14), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-11-22).

An analysis of the common-size income statement reveals a general trend of margin expansion and operational efficiency over the observed period. Net income attributable to the company has shifted from a range of 2.17% to 2.79% in the earlier periods to a more consistent range of 2.98% to 3.19% in the most recent quarters, indicating an improvement in overall bottom-line profitability.

Gross Margin and Cost of Sales
Merchandise costs have remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 88.45% and 89.82% of net sales. Gross margins consequently mirrored this stability, generally oscillating between 10.18% and 11.55%. A slight recovery in gross margin is observable in the later periods, with values consistently holding above 11.0% from late 2024 through 2026, suggesting improved procurement efficiencies or pricing adjustments.
Membership Fee Contribution
Membership fees as a percentage of net sales have remained remarkably consistent, typically ranging between 1.87% and 2.04%. This stability highlights the consistent nature of this revenue stream, which serves as a critical high-margin component of the total revenue mix.
Operating Expenses and Efficiency
Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses demonstrate a trend of optimization. Initial values peaked at 10.20% of net sales but generally declined and stabilized around the 8.9% to 9.2% range in later periods. This reduction in SG&A relative to sales suggests successful operational leverage and cost control measures.
Operating Income Trajectory
Operating income has experienced a gradual upward trend, moving from early fluctuations between 3.05% and 3.75% to a more robust range of 3.73% to 4.08% in the final periods. This growth is primarily attributed to the compression of SG&A expenses combined with stable gross margins.
Non-Operating Items and Net Profitability
Interest expense has remained minimal and showed a slight downward trend, decreasing from 0.09% to 0.05% of net sales. Conversely, interest income and other net items increased from an average of 0.07% to approximately 0.22% to 0.27%. These factors, combined with steady tax provisions, have contributed to the overall expansion of the net income margin, which reached its peak of 3.19% in the final recorded quarter.

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