Costco September Sales Jump 13% to $30.02B as COST Hits $942

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $30.02 billion for the retail month of September, the five weeks ended October 4, 2026, the company announced on October 7, 2026, a 13.0 percent increase from $26.58 billion in the same month last year. Comparable sales rose 11.4 percent companywide. Shares of Costco (Nasdaq: COST) traded at $942.25 as of 23:12 UTC today, up 2.03 percent on the session, within a range of $937.99 to $948.72.

Context — Why Costco's September Sales Print Matters Now

Costco's September result lands against a prior-year base the company itself supplied: $26.58 billion in net sales for the comparable five-week period. The 13.0 percent headline growth is therefore measured against that figure, not an estimate. The company did not restate or adjust the prior-year base.

The report gives no full-year sales target and no earnings guidance for the quarter. What it does give is the composition of the growth. Reported comparable sales of 11.4 percent fall to 7.6 percent once changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange are stripped out. That gap of roughly 380 basis points is the single most important number in the release, because it separates volume and traffic gains from price and currency effects.

The U.S. segment shows the widest spread. Reported comparable sales rose 12.5 percent, but excluding gasoline and foreign exchange the figure is 8.0 percent. Canada shows 6.3 percent reported against 4.9 percent adjusted. Other International shows 10.8 percent reported against 7.7 percent adjusted.

A calendar effect flattered the month. Labor Day in the U.S. and Canada fell one week later this year, and the company said the shift positively impacted September total and comparable sales by a little more than 50 basis points. That benefit does not repeat in October.

Digital momentum continues to outpace the warehouse base. Digitally-enabled sales, which the company defines as sales initiated through a digital device regardless of where they are fulfilled, rose 19.0 percent year-over-year, or 19.1 percent excluding foreign exchange. That is roughly 2.5 times the adjusted companywide comparable rate.

Data — What the Numbers Show

Metric	Reported	Ex gas & FX
U.S.	12.5%	8.0%
Canada	6.3%	4.9%
Other International	10.8%	7.7%
Total Company	11.4%	7.6%
Digitally-enabled	19.0%	19.1%

Net sales moved from $26.58 billion to $30.02 billion, a delta of $3.44 billion. Total reported comparable sales of 11.4 percent sit 380 basis points above the adjusted 7.6 percent. The U.S. reported figure of 12.5 percent sits 450 basis points above its adjusted 8.0 percent.

Digital growth of 19.0 percent is 760 basis points above total reported comparable sales and 1,140 basis points above the adjusted figure. Excluding foreign exchange, digital growth is 19.1 percent, meaning currency translation cost the digital channel 10 basis points.

The Labor Day calendar shift contributed a little more than 50 basis points to September totals. Without that shift, reported total comparable sales would have been closer to 10.9 percent.

The company operates 939 warehouses: 647 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 115 in Canada, 43 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, three in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland and New Zealand. It also runs e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and China.

COST traded between $937.99 and $948.72 on the session, a spread of $10.73. At $942.25 the stock sits below the session high and above the session low.

Analysis — What It Means for Retail and Consumer Staples

The adjusted comparable figure of 7.6 percent is the number that matters for anyone modeling Costco against peers in warehouse and mass retail. The 11.4 percent headline overstates underlying demand because gasoline price changes and currency translation both ran favorably relative to last year's period. A reader comparing Costco's headline to another retailer's headline would be comparing two different things unless both are adjusted.

The digital growth rate is the second-order signal. Digitally-enabled sales growing at 19.0 percent, more than double the adjusted comparable rate, suggests Costco is converting member traffic into higher-frequency, lower-friction transactions. That has implications for fulfillment cost structure across the warehouse network and for the e-commerce operations the company lists across nine markets.

The international mix matters. Other International reported 10.8 percent comparable growth against Canada's 6.3 percent, and the adjusted figures preserve that ordering at 7.7 percent versus 4.9 percent. Canada is the company's second-largest warehouse market by count at 115 locations, so its slower adjusted rate is a drag relative to the international average.

The counter-argument is the calendar. A little more than 50 basis points of September's total comparable sales came from a Labor Day timing shift, which is a pure timing transfer, not incremental demand. October should give back roughly that amount, and the company gave no October guidance. Anyone extrapolating September's rate forward without adjusting for the shift is overstating the run rate.

The company also disclosed no membership fee revenue, renewal rate, or gross margin figures in this release, and no quarterly earnings date. Those are the metrics that typically drive the stock around a monthly sales print, and they are absent here.

Positioning around the print has been constructive. COST traded at $942.25, up 2.03 percent, near the upper half of a $937.99 to $948.72 range. Costco's low-beta, membership-driven model keeps it a staple holding for funds that need consumer exposure without discretionary cyclicality.

Outlook — What to Watch Next

The pre-recorded discussion of these results is available through 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, accessible via the investor relations site under Events & Presentations. That recording is the next scheduled disclosure from the company on September trends.

The first hard test is October's sales report, which will absorb the reversal of the Labor Day shift the company flagged at a little more than 50 basis points. A total comparable figure holding above the adjusted 7.6 percent September rate would indicate the calendar effect was the only distortion.

Watch the digital line. Digitally-enabled sales at 19.0 percent reported are running well ahead of the warehouse base, and any deceleration there would signal the channel is normalizing toward the store rate. On the tape, $948.72 is the session high and $937.99 the session low; COST closed the period at $942.25, between the two.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Costco's September sales result mean for retail investors?

It shows the warehouse model still generating volume growth, but the quality of that growth depends on the adjustment. Reported comparable sales of 11.4 percent fall to 7.6 percent excluding gasoline and foreign exchange, and a little more than 50 basis points came from a Labor Day calendar shift. The company disclosed no margin, membership fee or renewal rate data in this release, so the print speaks to top-line demand only.

Why did Costco's comparable sales drop from 11.4% to 7.6%?

The company strips out two distorting factors. Changes in gasoline prices affect the dollar value of fuel sold at its stations without reflecting volume, and foreign exchange translation changes the dollar value of sales booked in Canada and other international markets. Costco reports both the headline and the adjusted figure because the adjusted number isolates underlying traffic and basket growth. The 380-basis-point gap is the size of those combined effects.