---
type: "Topics"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/41239307.md"
description: "Costco F3Q26 First Take: results remained steady with no major surprises. As usual, the print is a clean read-through on US and global consumption trends. Specifically:1) For F3Q26 (ended May 10), sales rose 11.6% YoY, the first double-digit growth since 2022. Companywide comps increased 9.8% vs 7.4% last quarter, a multi-year high.That said, traffic grew just 2.4% vs 3.1% in the prior quarter, while Avg. ticket jumped 7.3% YoY. The strong sales were driven by higher fuel and goods inflation after Middle East tensions flared. Traffic, a better read on spending willingness, softened.Ex fuel and FX, comps grew 6.6%. That was slightly below last quarter's 6.7%, underscoring softer underlying demand.2) Membership fee revenue grew 10.7%, down from ~14% in the prior three quarters. Paid members increased by approx. 0.8 mn (vs 0.7 mn last quarter), and the North America renewal rate, after roughly a year of sequential declines, ticked up 10bps QoQ. Membership growth and renewals thus appear resilient despite merchandise inflation.This fee-per-member uplift began in Q3 last year, creating a high base. Fee revenue growth should therefore continue to ease toward member growth of ~4–5%.3) While inflation accelerated tickets and sales, it also pressured costs, as Costco typically absorbs inflation before passing it through to consumers. This dynamic weighed on margins.Specifically, GPM fell 21bps YoY. Efficiency gains and lower HQ costs reduced the opex ratio by 20bps, limiting OPM compression to just 1bp. As a result, OPM was 28.2%, with OP up 11.3% YoY, slightly below revenue growth."
datetime: "2026-05-29T00:46:28.000Z"
locales:
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/41239307.md)
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/41239307.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/41239307.md)
author: "[Dolphin Research](https://longbridge.com/en/news/dolphin.md)"
---

# Costco F3Q26 First Take: results remained steady w…


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## Comments (1)

- **SSerpens · 2026-05-29T01:37:15.000Z**: $Costco Wholesale(COST.US) has a Charlie Munger premium