How Costco (COST) Makes Money: A Visual Guide
Costco (COST) generated $286.26B in revenue (TTM through Q1 2026), earning $8.55B in net profit (3% margin). Its largest revenue source is Food and Sundries (39.5% of revenue). Below is an interactive breakdown of how revenue flows through the income statement.
Costco (COST) Income Statement Flow
Frequently asked questions
How does Costco (COST) make money?
- Costco (COST) primarily makes money through Food and Sundries, which accounts for 39.5% of total revenue. For TTM through Q1 2026, Costco generated $286.26B in total revenue with a net profit margin of 3%.
What is Costco (COST) gross profit margin?
- Costco (COST) reported a gross profit margin of 12.9% for TTM through Q1 2026, equivalent to $37.00B in gross profit. This means Costco retains 12.9% of each revenue unit after direct costs of production.
What is Costco (COST) operating profit margin?
- Costco (COST) reported an operating profit margin of 3.8% for TTM through Q1 2026, equivalent to $10.94B in operating profit. This reflects profitability after operating expenses such as R&D, sales, and administration, but before taxes and non-operating items.
What is Costco (COST) net profit margin?
- Costco (COST) reported a net profit margin of 3% for TTM through Q1 2026, equivalent to $8.55B in net profit. This is the share of revenue that remains as profit after all expenses, taxes, and non-operating items.
How much does Costco (COST) spend on capital expenditures?
- Costco (COST) spent $5.91B on capital expenditures in TTM through Q1 2026 (2.1% of total revenue). Capital expenditures represent investments in physical assets such as property, equipment, and infrastructure.
What is Costco (COST) free cash flow?
- Costco (COST) generated $9.10B in free cash flow for TTM through Q1 2026 (3.2% of total revenue). Free cash flow is the cash remaining after capital expenditures and represents the company's ability to fund growth, pay dividends, or reduce debt.
What is Costco (COST) effective tax rate?
- Costco (COST) had an effective tax rate of 25% for TTM through Q1 2026. This is the actual percentage of pre-tax income paid as income taxes.
About this data
- What is a Sankey diagram?
- A Sankey diagram shows how money flows through a company from revenue to net profit. The width of each flow represents its proportion.
- How is the data calculated?
- We use the income statement from company filings. For TTM (Trailing Twelve Months), we sum the last four quarters. Revenue flows to cost of revenue and gross profit, then to operating expenses (R&D, S&M, G&A) and operating profit.
- When was this data last updated?
- Based on company filings through TTM through Q1 2026.