COSTCostco
Is the business good?
The checks split: nothing decisive, though earnings fully cash-backed (1.8×).
Mixed fundamental signals. Nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year health from the filings.
Operating profit is fully backed by cash.
Positive operating leverage, operating profit is growing faster than sales, so margins widen as the business scales.
Efficiency-driven, thin margins turned over fast (the retail model). ROE 27% = margin × turnover × leverage.
Unless marked, from derived.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.
How good a business is COST?
Costco earns 45% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so the business is worth more the bigger it gets.
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 36 points above what the capital costs: growth creates value
- Operating margin
- 3.9%
Operating margin · Discount Stores median 4.5% · 12 months to Q4 2026
- Cash conversion
- 1.80×
Cash conversion · 1.72× a year ago · operating cash flow covers the operating profit after tax
- Gross margin
- 13%
Gross margin
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2021 | 3.4% |
| FY2022 | 3.4% |
| FY2023 | 3.4% |
| FY2024 | 3.6% |
| FY2025 | 3.8% |
| FY2026 | 3.9% |
Details›
- Gross margin12 months to Q4 2026
- 13%
- Operating margin12 months to Q4 2026
- 3.9%
- Net margin12 months to Q4 2026
- 3.0%
- Free cash flow margin
- 3.1%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $303.2B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- $9.38B
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $9.23B
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 45%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.
Customers and suppliers
Who buys from COST and who it buys from, as the companies report it.
None disclosed.
- CELHCelsius Holdings, Inc.11%
COST is 11% of its revenue · FY2025 10-K
- FRPTFreshpet, Inc.10%
COST is 10% of its revenue · FY2025 10-K
A company has to disclose every customer behind 10% or more of its revenue. Each share comes from the latest annual report of the company that states it and shows on both companies’ pages; COST’s own figures are from its FY2026 10-K. Smaller customers and suppliers go unreported.
Consumer Defensive
Ranks #45 of 126 by RyuScore