Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) reported solid fiscal Q2 FY26 results, posting revenue of $69.6 billion, up roughly 9% year over year, and earnings per share of $4.58, both modestly ahead of expectations. Comparable sales increased 7.4%, supported by steady traffic growth and higher average ticket sizes, while digitally enabled sales continued to perform well, rising more than 20% year over year.
Membership trends remained a key driver of profitability. Membership fee revenue increased 13.6% to $1.36 billion, aided by membership growth and the benefit from last year’s fee increase. Total paid members reached 82.1 million, while renewal rates remained strong at 92.1% in the U.S. and Canada and 89.7% globally. Management noted the slight decline in North American renewal rates was primarily due to the growing share of online sign-ups, which have shown to renew at somewhat lower rates than in-warehouse members.
Management also reiterated its methodical warehouse expansion strategy, maintaining a measured pace of new openings with roughly 28 locations planned for this fiscal year and a longer-term target of sustaining around 30 annual openings. While demand trends remain healthy, areas to watch include potential tariff-related cost pressures, even after the recent overturning of tariffs under the America First Investment Policy Act.
For more details, key highlights, and commentary, check out the high-level earnings summary.
