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Economic value added or economic profit is the difference between revenues and costs,where costs include not only expenses, but also cost of capital.

Costco Wholesale Corp., economic profit calculation

US$ in millions

	12 months ended	Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT)¹
	Cost of capital²
	Invested capital³

	Economic profit⁴

² Cost of capital. See details »

³ Invested capital. See details »

⁴ 2019 Calculation
Economic profit = NOPAT – Cost of capital × Invested capital
= – × =

Item	Description	The company
Economic profit	Economic profit is a measure of corporate performance computed by taking the spread between the return on invested capital and the cost of capital, and multiplying by the invested capital.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s economic profit increased from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Costco Wholesale Corp., NOPAT calculation

US$ in millions

	12 months ended	Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Net income attributable to Costco
	Deferred income tax expense (benefit)¹
	Increase (decrease) in LIFO reserve²
	Increase (decrease) in equity equivalents³
	Interest expense
	Interest expense, operating lease liability⁴
	Adjusted interest expense
	Tax benefit of interest expense⁵
	Adjusted interest expense, after taxes⁶
	(Gain) loss on marketable securities
	Interest income
	Investment income, before taxes
	Tax expense (benefit) of investment income⁷
	Investment income, after taxes⁸
	Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest
	Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT)

¹ Elimination of deferred tax expense. See details »

² Addition of increase (decrease) in LIFO reserve. See details »

³ Addition of increase (decrease) in equity equivalents to net income attributable to Costco.

⁴ 2019 Calculation
Interest expense on capitalized operating leases = Operating lease liability × Discount rate
= × =

⁵ 2019 Calculation
Tax benefit of interest expense = Adjusted interest expense × Statutory income tax rate
= × 21.00% =

⁶ Addition of after taxes interest expense to net income attributable to Costco.

⁷ 2019 Calculation
Tax expense (benefit) of investment income = Investment income, before tax × Statutory income tax rate
= × 21.00% =

⁸ Elimination of after taxes investment income.

Item	Description	The company
NOPAT	Net operating profit after taxes is income from operations, but after removement of taxes calculated on cash basis that are relevant to operating income.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s NOPAT increased from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Costco Wholesale Corp., cash operating taxes calculation

US$ in millions

	12 months ended	Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Provision for income taxes
	Less: Deferred income tax expense (benefit)
	Add: Tax savings from interest expense
	Less: Tax imposed on investment income
	Cash operating taxes

Item	Description	The company
Cash operating taxes	Cash operating taxes are estimated by adjusting income tax expense for changes in deferred taxes and tax benefit from the interest deduction.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s cash operating taxes decreased from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Costco Wholesale Corp., invested capital calculation (financing approach)

US$ in millions

		Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Current portion of long-term debt
	Long-term debt, excluding current portion
	Operating lease liability¹
	Total reported debt & leases
	Total Costco stockholders’ equity
	Net deferred tax (assets) liabilities²
	LIFO reserve³
	Equity equivalents⁴
	Accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss, net of tax⁵
	Noncontrolling interests
	Adjusted total Costco stockholders’ equity
	Construction in progress⁶
	Short-term investments⁷
	Invested capital

¹ Addition of capitalized operating leases.

² Elimination of deferred taxes from assets and liabilities. See details »

³ Addition of LIFO reserve. See details »

⁴ Addition of equity equivalents to total Costco stockholders’ equity.

⁵ Removal of accumulated other comprehensive income.

⁶ Subtraction of construction in progress.

⁷ Subtraction of short-term investments.

Item	Description	The company
Invested capital	Capital is an approximation of the economic book value of all cash invested in going-concern business activities.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s invested capital increased from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Costco Wholesale Corp., cost of capital calculations


Equity²	÷	=	×		=
Long-term debt, including current portion³	÷	=	×	× (1 – 21.00%)	=
Operating lease liability⁴	÷	=	×	× (1 – 21.00%)	=
Total:

¹ US$ in millions