← Back to all signals
COST · Q2 2026

Costco Wholesale Corporation

Reported 2026-05-28
IN-LINE
31EarnIQ signal
↗

Confidence rising

Moderate quarter-over-quarter shift

Costco demonstrates strong top-line sales and double-digit digital growth, showing resilient consumer demand.

  • ✓Guidance was none, with low specificity.
  • ✓Management tone registered as confident (85/100).
  • ✓EarnIQ detected 0 potential management deflections.
Headline–confidence gap

Mixed evidence

The headline and management signals do not point in one direction (confidence rising).

EPS: reported vs expected—— vs —
Revenue: reported vs expected—— vs —
Guidance specificityLowChange not comparable
Market expectations are being matched to this report.

Net sales for the quarter increased 11.6 percent, to $69.15 billion, from $61.96 billion last year.

Premium intelligence

The evidence behind the signal

Full report
Management language

Why confidence moved

“Net sales for the quarter increased 11.6 percent, to $69.15 billion, from $61.96 billion last year.”
“Net income for the quarter was $2.19 billion, $4.93 per diluted share, compared to $1.90 billion, $4.28 per diluted share, last year.”
“Digitally-Enabled comparable sales increased 21.5% for the quarter.”
Guidance specificity
10/100

Low specificity

No explicit forward-looking quantitative guidance was provided in the earnings release or provided text.

Pressure point
!

Domestic and international economic conditions

0 potential deflections detected in management communication.

Narrative break

What changed

No material narrative break was detected this quarter.

Q&A evidence

Management responses

No material Q&A deflections were detected.

Key positives
  • Total company comparable sales grew 9.8% for the quarter (6.6% adjusted for gas and FX).
  • Digitally-enabled comparable sales surged 21.5% for the quarter.
  • Net income increased to $2.19 billion compared to $1.90 billion in the prior year period.
Key risks
  • Domestic and international economic conditions, including foreign exchange fluctuations and inflation or deflation.
  • Rising costs associated with employees generally including health-care costs and wages.
  • Geopolitical conditions including tariffs and global conflicts impacting supply chains.
Topic velocity

Language versus prior quarter

M&ANew
CostNew
ChinaNew
MarginNew
RecordNew
iPhoneNew
Signal composition

What drove the EarnIQ score

Tone+20
Eps Beat+0
Guidance+3
New Signal+0
Miss Penalty+0
Qoq Improvement+8
Deflection Penalty+0