By Teresa Rivas

Costco Wholesale, the last major retailer to report results this earnings season, posted mixed results for its latest quarter.

While the report was solid in most regards, it was not the blowout results some investors may have come to expect from the warehouse club retailer, especially after previous strong data.

Costco said it earned $4.93 a share in its fiscal third quarter on revenue that rose 11.5% year over year to $70.5 billion. Analysts were looking eanrings of $4.98 a share on revenue of $69.68 billion. Same-store sales rose 6.6%, while membership revenue climbed 10.5% from the year ago period.

Shares were inching 0.2% higher in late trading after falling during regular trading.

Costco shares have outperformed this year, but have pulled back sharply in recent days, falling more than 7% since other major retailers began reporting on May 20. That decline may have helped soften the blow of the bottom-line miss.

Costco had already announced that April comparable sales were up 7.8% and digitally-enabled comps climbed 18.4%, showing that consumer demand held up even as Americans struggled with higher gas prices.

Although the full-quarter comparable sales were slightly lower than expected, digitally-enabled comps climbed to 20.4%, potentially showing that consumers were shopping more online. The growth in membership fee revenue for the full quarter was also below last quarter's 14% increase, but still implied ongoing high renewal rates, with the total -- $1.37 billion -- edging slightly ahead of the previous level.

Warehouse clubs like Costco have boosted their value bona fides during the inflation era, and data from Placer.ai show that both overall visits and same-store visits (which typically measure locations open at least a year) were up every month from November through April at Costco. The spike in gas prices is likely part of the uptick in visits, as Walmart noted on its conference call.

Costco also tends to cater to a generally higher income shopper, which has been less stressed by rising prices.

Costco shares have jumped nearly 17%, ahead of the S&P 500, since the start of 2026, reaching new all-time highs. Shares of its rival BJ's fell despite a solid earnings report last week.

Write to Teresa Rivas at teresa.rivas@barrons.com

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May 28, 2026 16:55 ET (20:55 GMT)

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