Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Revenue-to-Profit Sankey Flow & SEC XBRL Financials
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) earns a Roarable Rating of A- (Buy) with 83/100 RQD Confidence. High-quality cash engine (13% profit margin, 42% return on capital) with steady institutional support. Even if the broader market gets choppy, the company’s underlying cash engine and big-money support put the odds in buyers’ favor.
How COST Turns Every Dollar of Sales Into Real Bottom-Line Profit
Multi-Year SEC EDGAR XBRL Revenue, Net Profit & Free Cash Flow Trajectory
| Fiscal Year | Revenue | Gross Margin | Op Margin | Net Profit | Free Cash Flow | ROIC % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2026 | $303.15B | 12.8% | 3.9% | $9.23B | $9.38B | 42.4% |
| FY 2025 | $275.24B | 12.8% | 3.8% | $8.10B | $7.84B | 39.5% |
| FY 2024 | $254.45B | 12.6% | 3.6% | $7.37B | $6.63B | 37.4% |
| FY 2023 | $242.29B | 12.3% | 3.4% | $6.29B | $6.75B | 36% |
| FY 2022 | $226.95B | 12.2% | 3.4% | $5.84B | $3.50B | 36.2% |
| FY 2021 | $195.93B | 12.9% | 3.4% | $5.01B | $5.37B | 38.4% |
Costco Wholesale Corp's FY2026 Form 10-K (accession 0000909832-26-000093) reflects minor operational drift and geographic footprint expansion rather than severe structural balance-sheet distress. Key updates include incremental dilution in Canadian operating profit concentration from 84% to 83%, the addition of 'culture' preservation to membership loyalty risk factors, and expansion of mainland China digital storefront operations. Net business model risk and cash-conversion-cycle durability remain exceptionally sound.
Operating income concentration in Canada and the U.S. contracted by 100 bps to 83%, demonstrating subtle profit diversification into international regions (such as Mexico, Japan, and Europe) while maintaining extreme exposure to California (26% of domestic sales).
Legal counsel inserted 'and our culture' into core membership risk disclosures, reflecting internal anxieties over workforce friction, unionization pressures, or employee-turnover inflation following executive transitions that could jeopardize store-level operating efficiency.
Management expanded digital direct-to-consumer infrastructure directly into mainland China, increasing cross-border data compliance, local IT platform overhead, and sovereign regulatory scrutiny under CAC rules.
Red-Light Warning Desk: How Pros Profit When Overhyped Stocks Crack (Featuring COST)
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COST Dilution Monitor, Expectations Hurdle, Butterfly Connections & Policy Exposure
SEC XBRL FY2025 → FY2026: Disciplined near-zero share dilution.
vs. +10.1% actual YoY revenue growth (assuming 9.25% cost of equity & 16.5x terminal multiple).
No active Ellis Vennor swing setup published on COST today. View full Setup Ledger →
No direct multi-tier Butterfly edges indexed yet for COST. Explore sector supply chains on /butterfly.
COST Investor FAQ & Complete 8-Part Research Index
100% OPEN ACCESS • SEC EDGAR × CBOE × FREDHow profitable is Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST)?
In FY 2026 (10-K), COST converted $303.2B of revenue into a 12.8% gross margin, 3.9% operating margin, and $9.4B in free cash flow (3.1% FCF margin).