A US membership warehouse-club retailer selling bulk groceries and general merchandise to paying members.
costco.comLegal name
Costco Wholesale CorporationFounded
September 15, 1983
Headquarters
Issaquah, Washington, United States
Industry
Retail (membership warehouse club)
Employees
341,000 (2025)
Revenue (FY25)
US$275.2 billionMarket Cap
US$412.09 billion
Listed on
NASDAQ: COST
CEO
Ron Vachris
Website
costco.com
Costco Wholesale Corporation is a US membership-only warehouse club retailer founded on September 15, 1983 and headquartered in Issaquah, Washington. It trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker COST and is a component of the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500. The company sells bulk groceries, general merchandise, and services through large-format warehouses to paying members.
For fiscal year 2025 Costco reported revenue of about US$275.2 billion and it employed roughly 341,000 people. As of mid-2026 the company carries a market capitalization of about US$412 billion, making it one of the largest retailers in the world by both sales and market value.
The company is led by Ron Vachris, who serves as President and Chief Executive Officer after becoming the company's third CEO in January 2024. Gary Millerchip, a former Kroger finance chief, is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Hamilton E. James serves as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board.
Interview experience
Favorable (8/10)
Interview difficulty
Medium (4/10)
Interview process length
About a day or two
Practice real Costco questions and get instant feedback before you walk in.
Q: What was a mistake you made and how did you own up to it?
A: Pick a real, low-stakes mistake, say plainly that it was yours, and focus most of your answer on how you fixed it and what changed afterward.
Q: Tell me about a time you were rewarded for being a good employee.
A: Use a short situation-action-result story: what you did, why it stood out, and the recognition or result it earned.
Q: Do you have retail experience?
A: Answer honestly. If you have retail history, name the roles and transferable skills; if not, point to related experience like customer contact, cash handling, or teamwork.
Q: Why did you want to work for Costco?
A: Connect specific reasons like Costco's pay, benefits, and long-tenure culture to what you want in a job, and show you researched the company.
Practice real Costco questions and get instant feedback before you walk in.
Reported average
$20.66/hr
14 Salaries submitted
Reported average
$23.78/hr
7 Salaries submitted
Reported average
$22.59/hr
7 Salaries submitted
Reported average
$22.30/hr
16 Salaries submitted
Reported average
$21.73/hr
11 Salaries submitted
Reported average
$19.33/hr
7 Salaries submitted
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June 3, 2026
Costco posts double-digit Q3 FY2026 sales and profit growth
For the 12 weeks ended May 10, 2026, Costco reported net sales of $69.2 billion, up 12%, with total company comparable sales up 10% and net income of $2.2 billion, or $4.93 per diluted share. Membership fee revenue rose 11% to $1.37 billion, with 82.9 million paid members and a 92.2% US and Canada renewal rate.
#earnings #retail #membership
View postMarch 6, 2026
Costco beats estimates in Q2 fiscal 2026
Costco reported Q2 total revenue of $69.6 billion, up 9.2%, and EPS of $4.58, up 13.9% year over year, beating consensus. Comparable sales grew 7.4% and digitally-enabled comparable sales surged 22.6%.
#earnings #ecommerce #retail
View postMarch 6, 2026
Costco targets 28 net new warehouses in fiscal 2026
Costco said it expects to open 28 net new warehouses in fiscal 2026 and is targeting 30-plus openings annually over the longer term. The company operates 924 warehouses worldwide, including 634 in the US and Puerto Rico.
#expansion #retail #growth
View postMarch 6, 2026
Executive memberships drive Costco's recurring revenue
Costco ended Q2 with 82.1 million paid household members, up 4.8%, while executive memberships climbed a faster 9.5% to 40.4 million. Renewal rates held at 92.1% in the US and Canada and 89.7% worldwide.
#membership #retail
View postJanuary 31, 2025
Costco locks in wage increases through March 2027
Under a three-year employee agreement, Costco set top-of-scale clerk pay at $31.90 per hour and included two additional $1 hourly increases scheduled for March 2026 and March 2027. Most hourly staff receive raises of 50 cents to one dollar.
#wages #hiring #workforce
View postCostco is a US membership-only warehouse club that sells bulk groceries, general merchandise, and services through large-format warehouses to paying members.
