NEW YORK, March 5, 2026, 14:14 EST
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST.O) will report fiscal second-quarter results after U.S. markets close on Thursday and is also set to release February sales, its investor calendar shows. A webcast is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. PT. 1
Why it matters now: Costco’s shares have climbed sharply this year, and investors have leaned on membership-based retailers for steadier demand as trading has turned jumpy in pockets of the market. Analysts expect an 8% rise in quarterly sales and adjusted earnings per share — profit excluding certain items — to increase 12% to $4.53, Visible Alpha data cited by Investopedia showed. 2
The results also land as retailers revisit pricing and sourcing plans after tariff policy swung again. President Donald Trump raised a temporary levy on imports to 15% from 10% after the Supreme Court struck down the government’s emergency duties, Reuters reported on Wednesday. “The core issue isn’t the elevated tariff rates, it’s the policy whiplash,” eMarketer analyst Zak Stambor said, while Target CEO Michael Fiddelke said price was “the very last lever we want to pull.” 3
Costco’s last sales snapshot, released in early February, showed net sales rose 9.3% to $21.33 billion for the four-week retail month of January ended Feb. 1. Comparable sales — a measure that strips out new stores to show demand at existing locations — rose 7.1%, while comparable sales excluding gasoline-price and foreign-exchange effects were 6.4%; “digitally-enabled” comparable sales jumped 34.4%, Costco said. It also warned the later timing of Lunar and Chinese New Year weighed on January international sales. 4
Membership fees remain a focal point because they provide a large, recurring stream that can cushion swings in merchandise margins. In its last quarterly report, Costco said membership fees were $1.329 billion in the quarter ended Nov. 23, up from $1.166 billion a year earlier, while net sales rose 8.2% to $65.98 billion. 5
Consensus estimates cluster near the same range. Seeking Alpha on Wednesday put the consensus at earnings of $4.55 a share on revenue of $69.32 billion, and said analysts have raised their EPS forecasts over the past three months. 6
Costco’s run-up has also pulled in technical traders. MarketWatch said the stock’s chart printed a “golden cross” — when the 50-day moving average rises above the 200-day average — and it contrasted Costco’s momentum with BJ’s Wholesale Club, which it said posted 1.6% comparable sales growth. 7
But the stock’s premium valuation leaves little room for a stumble. Barron’s said Costco trades at about 47 times next year’s earnings and flagged membership renewal rates and foot traffic as key swing factors, adding that some investors are watching for a special dividend that Costco has issued periodically. 8
On the call, investors are likely to press management on how it is balancing price, wages and freight costs, and what it is seeing in big-ticket categories versus staples. Comments on imports and any shift in member behavior could matter as much as the headline numbers.
Costco’s February sales figures, released alongside the quarterly report, will give the freshest read on traffic heading into spring. For a stock that has already run hard, even a small change in tone can show up quickly in the next session.
