Costco posted fourth-quarter earnings of $6.75 a share on $95.72 billion of revenue, topping estimates of $6.54 and $94.97 billion respectively. The beat was the fifth in six quarters on earnings and the seventh straight on revenue, though shares barely moved after hours before climbing 2.5 percent by Friday morning.
Pharmacy and GLP-1s Drive the Upside
The real action was in the pharmacy segment, where sales grew nearly 20 percent. CEO Ron Vachris credited digital tools, Rx mobile pay-ahead and pickup lockers, along with fertility and GLP-1 obesity drug programs. More than a third of prescriptions in many U.S. warehouses now use pay-ahead, and double-digit prescription growth for the full year more than offset the hit from Medicare maximum fair price changes.
Gas and Memberships Keep Compounding
Fuel had a record year as members chased value, saving an estimated $3.2 billion versus average pump prices in Costco markets. Paid memberships rose 3.8 percent to 84.1 million; executive memberships jumped 9.4 percent to 42.3 million. Renewal rates in the U.S. and Canada ticked up to 92.3 percent. Net sales climbed 11.2 percent to $93.87 billion; comparable sales rose 9.4 percent, or 6.7 percent excluding gas and foreign exchange.
The Tariff Adjustment and What Comes Next
Adjusted for a 15-cent-per-share tariff-refund benefit, diluted EPS still grew more than 12 percent year over year. Costco added 12 warehouses in the quarter, ten in the U.S., one in Mexico, one relocation in Taiwan, finishing the fiscal year with 25 net new buildings and 939 total. The plan for fiscal 2027 calls for 33 openings including five relocations, or 28 net new, just short of the 30-per-year target. Four of the new sites will be in Europe. Delivery partnerships with Uber Eats and DoorDash now cover the nation, and management says the volume is largely incremental to warehouse sales.