Profitability ratios measure the company’s ability to generate profitable sales from its resources (assets).

Profitability Ratios (Summary)
Gross Profit Margin
Operating Profit Margin
Net Profit Margin
Return on Equity (ROE)
Return on Assets (ROA)

Costco Wholesale Corp., profitability ratios

		Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Return on Sales
	Gross profit margin
	Operating profit margin
	Net profit margin
	Return on Investment
	Return on equity (ROE)
	Return on assets (ROA)

Based on: 10-K (filing date: 2019-10-11), 10-K (filing date: 2018-10-26), 10-K (filing date: 2017-10-18), 10-K (filing date: 2016-10-12), 10-K (filing date: 2015-10-14), 10-K (filing date: 2014-10-15).

Profitability ratio	Description	The company
Gross profit margin	Gross profit margin indicates the percentage of revenue available to cover operating and other expenditures.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s gross profit margin ratio deteriorated from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.
Operating profit margin	A profitability ratio calculated as operating income divided by revenue.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s operating profit margin ratio deteriorated from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.
Net profit margin	An indicator of profitability, calculated as net income divided by revenue.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s net profit margin ratio improved from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Profitability ratio	Description	The company
ROE	A profitability ratio calculated as net income divided by shareholders’ equity.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s ROE deteriorated from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.
ROA	A profitability ratio calculated as net income divided by total assets.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s ROA improved from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Costco Wholesale Corp., gross profit margin calculation, comparison to benchmarks

		Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions)
	Gross margin
	Net sales
	Profitability Ratio
	Gross profit margin¹
	Benchmarks
	Gross Profit Margin, Competitors²
	Amazon.com Inc.
	Dollar General Corp.
	Home Depot Inc.
	Lowe’s Cos. Inc.
	Target Corp.
	TJX Cos. Inc.
	Walmart Inc.

Based on: 10-K (filing date: 2019-10-11), 10-K (filing date: 2018-10-26), 10-K (filing date: 2017-10-18), 10-K (filing date: 2016-10-12), 10-K (filing date: 2015-10-14), 10-K (filing date: 2014-10-15).

¹ 2019 Calculation
Gross profit margin = 100 × Gross margin ÷ Net sales
= 100 × ÷ =

² Click competitor name to see calculations.

Profitability ratio	Description	The company
Gross profit margin	Gross profit margin indicates the percentage of revenue available to cover operating and other expenditures.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s gross profit margin ratio deteriorated from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Costco Wholesale Corp., operating profit margin calculation, comparison to benchmarks

		Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions)
	Operating income
	Net sales
	Profitability Ratio
	Operating profit margin¹
	Benchmarks
	Operating Profit Margin, Competitors²
	Amazon.com Inc.
	Dollar General Corp.
	Home Depot Inc.
	Lowe’s Cos. Inc.
	Target Corp.
	TJX Cos. Inc.
	Walmart Inc.
	Operating Profit Margin, Sector
	General Retailers
	Operating Profit Margin, Industry
	Consumer Services

Based on: 10-K (filing date: 2019-10-11), 10-K (filing date: 2018-10-26), 10-K (filing date: 2017-10-18), 10-K (filing date: 2016-10-12), 10-K (filing date: 2015-10-14), 10-K (filing date: 2014-10-15).

¹ 2019 Calculation
Operating profit margin = 100 × Operating income ÷ Net sales
= 100 × ÷ =

² Click competitor name to see calculations.

Profitability ratio	Description	The company
Operating profit margin	A profitability ratio calculated as operating income divided by revenue.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s operating profit margin ratio deteriorated from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Costco Wholesale Corp., net profit margin calculation, comparison to benchmarks

		Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions)
	Net income attributable to Costco
	Net sales
	Profitability Ratio
	Net profit margin¹
	Benchmarks
	Net Profit Margin, Competitors²
	Amazon.com Inc.
	Dollar General Corp.
	Home Depot Inc.
	Lowe’s Cos. Inc.
	Target Corp.
	TJX Cos. Inc.
	Walmart Inc.
	Net Profit Margin, Sector
	General Retailers
	Net Profit Margin, Industry
	Consumer Services

Based on: 10-K (filing date: 2019-10-11), 10-K (filing date: 2018-10-26), 10-K (filing date: 2017-10-18), 10-K (filing date: 2016-10-12), 10-K (filing date: 2015-10-14), 10-K (filing date: 2014-10-15).

¹ 2019 Calculation
Net profit margin = 100 × Net income attributable to Costco ÷ Net sales
= 100 × ÷ =

² Click competitor name to see calculations.

Profitability ratio	Description	The company
Net profit margin	An indicator of profitability, calculated as net income divided by revenue.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s net profit margin ratio improved from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Costco Wholesale Corp., ROE calculation, comparison to benchmarks

		Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions)
	Net income attributable to Costco
	Total Costco stockholders’ equity
	Profitability Ratio
	ROE¹
	Benchmarks
	ROE, Competitors²
	Amazon.com Inc.
	Dollar General Corp.
	Home Depot Inc.
	Lowe’s Cos. Inc.
	Target Corp.
	TJX Cos. Inc.
	Walmart Inc.
	ROE, Sector
	General Retailers
	ROE, Industry
	Consumer Services

Based on: 10-K (filing date: 2019-10-11), 10-K (filing date: 2018-10-26), 10-K (filing date: 2017-10-18), 10-K (filing date: 2016-10-12), 10-K (filing date: 2015-10-14), 10-K (filing date: 2014-10-15).

¹ 2019 Calculation
ROE = 100 × Net income attributable to Costco ÷ Total Costco stockholders’ equity
= 100 × ÷ =

² Click competitor name to see calculations.

Profitability ratio	Description	The company
ROE	A profitability ratio calculated as net income divided by shareholders’ equity.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s ROE deteriorated from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

Costco Wholesale Corp., ROA calculation, comparison to benchmarks

		Sep 1, 2019	Sep 2, 2018	Sep 3, 2017	Aug 28, 2016	Aug 30, 2015	Aug 31, 2014
	Selected Financial Data (US$ in millions)
	Net income attributable to Costco
	Total assets
	Profitability Ratio
	ROA¹
	Benchmarks
	ROA, Competitors²
	Amazon.com Inc.
	Dollar General Corp.
	Home Depot Inc.
	Lowe’s Cos. Inc.
	Target Corp.
	TJX Cos. Inc.
	Walmart Inc.
	ROA, Sector
	General Retailers
	ROA, Industry
	Consumer Services

Based on: 10-K (filing date: 2019-10-11), 10-K (filing date: 2018-10-26), 10-K (filing date: 2017-10-18), 10-K (filing date: 2016-10-12), 10-K (filing date: 2015-10-14), 10-K (filing date: 2014-10-15).

¹ 2019 Calculation
ROA = 100 × Net income attributable to Costco ÷ Total assets
= 100 × ÷ =

² Click competitor name to see calculations.

Profitability ratio	Description	The company
ROA	A profitability ratio calculated as net income divided by total assets.	Costco Wholesale Corp.’s ROA improved from 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019.

	Costco Wholesale Corp.	Other companies (not purchased previously)
Financial Statements
Common-Size Financial Statements
Analysis of Financial Ratios
Relative Valuation
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Valuation
Economic Value Added (EVA)
Long-term Trends
Analysis of Components of Financial Statements
Financial Reporting Quality

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Financial Statements
Common-Size Financial Statements
Analysis of Financial Ratios
Relative Valuation
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Valuation
Economic Value Added (EVA)
Long-term Trends
Analysis of Components of Financial Statements
Financial Reporting Quality

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST)

Analysis of Profitability Ratios

Profitability Ratios (Summary)

Gross Profit Margin

Operating Profit Margin

Net Profit Margin

Return on Equity (ROE)

Return on Assets (ROA)