Costco COST
Bought back $848.0M of its own shares, 0.9× what it paid in stock
XBRL, latest 10-KNew shares against shares bought back
Dilution: new shares, stock pay and buybacks · S-3 and 424B, 3 years; 10-K
Diluted shares: 444.43M in the year to Aug 30, 2026 2026 -0.1%2025 0.0%2024 +0.1%2023 -0.1%
Change in the diluted weighted average share count from the fiscal year before, stock splits taken out. Bars use one scale for stock pay and buybacks. Prospectuses are read from their cover page; preliminary ones are left out. How
Where the cash came from and where it went
FY2022 to FY2026, from the cash flow statements in the 10-Ks, added up
The same cash, step by step
Came from
| Operating cash flow NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities, 0000909832-24-000049; NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities, 0000909832-25-000101; NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities, 0000909832-26-000093 |
$59.0B |
| Debt raised ProceedsFromIssuanceOfLongTermDebt, 0000909832-24-000049; ProceedsFromIssuanceOfLongTermDebt, 0000909832-25-000101; ProceedsFromIssuanceOfLongTermDebt, 0000909832-26-000093 |
$994.0M |
Went to
| Capital spending PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment, 0000909832-24-000049; PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment, 0000909832-25-000101; PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment, 0000909832-26-000093 |
$24.9B |
| Buybacks PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock, 0000909832-24-000049; PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock, 0000909832-25-000101; PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock, 0000909832-26-000093 |
$3.6B |
| Dividends PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock, 0000909832-24-000049; PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock, 0000909832-25-000101; PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock, 0000909832-26-000093 |
$16.4B |
| Debt repaid RepaymentsOfLongTermDebt, 0000909832-24-000049; RepaymentsOfLongTermDebt, 0000909832-25-000101; RepaymentsOfLongTermDebt, 0000909832-26-000093 |
$2.1B |
| Added to cash CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalentsPeriodIncreaseDecreaseIncludingExchangeRateEffect, 0000909832-24-000049; CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalentsPeriodIncreaseDecreaseIncludingExchangeRateEffect, 0000909832-25-000101; CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalentsPeriodIncreaseDecreaseIncludingExchangeRateEffect, 0000909832-26-000093 |
$8.9B |
| Other, net investments bought and sold, other financing and investing lines, and exchange rates |
$4.0B |
Each number is a line of the cash flow statement as the company tagged it. "Other, net" is what those lines do not cover (investments bought and sold, other financing and investing lines, and exchange rates); Tickdelta does not estimate it.
Where the operating cash went, year by year
FY2017 to FY2026 · cash flow statements, 10-K XBRL
| Fiscal year | Operating cash | Capital spending | Buybacks | Dividends | Debt repaid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2026 | $15.8B | $6.4B | $848.0M | $2.5B | $69.0M |
| Aug 31, 2025 | $13.3B | $5.5B | $903.0M | $2.2B | $103.0M |
| Sep 1, 2024 | $11.3B | $4.7B | $700.0M | $9.0B | $1.1B |
| Sep 3, 2023 | $11.1B | $4.3B | $676.0M | $1.3B | $75.0M |
| Aug 28, 2022 | $7.4B | $3.9B | $439.0M | $1.5B | $800.0M |
| Aug 29, 2021 | $9.0B | $3.6B | $496.0M | $5.7B | $94.0M |
| Aug 30, 2020 | $8.9B | $2.8B | $196.0M | $1.5B | $3.2B |
| Sep 1, 2019 | $6.4B | $3.0B | $247.0M | $1.0B | $89.0M |
| Sep 2, 2018 | $5.8B | $3.0B | $328.0M | $689.0M | $86.0M |
| Sep 3, 2017 | $6.7B | $2.5B | $469.0M | $3.9B | $2.2B |
| Added up | $95.6B | $39.7B 42% of operating cash | $5.3B 6% of operating cash | $29.3B 31% of operating cash | $7.8B 8% of operating cash |
Each bar is one fiscal year; its colours add up to what the cash flow statement says the company spent on each line, and the line across it is that year's operating cash flow. Spending above the line was paid from new debt, shares sold or cash on hand. A bar part links to the 10-K it comes from. A line the company did not report is left out, not estimated, so the shares are of operating cash only and can add up to more or less than 100%. Debt repaid is the gross amount, so refinanced debt is counted each time it is repaid. A reading aid, not a grade: Tickdelta does not say whether a split was good. Banks and insurers are left out.
Buybacks, dividends and share count
Year by year · XBRL, each 10-K
| Fiscal year to | Buybacks | Dividends | Diluted shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2026 | $848.0M | $2.5B | 444.43M |
| Aug 31, 2025 | $903.0M | $2.2B | 444.80M |
| Sep 1, 2024 | $700.0M | $9.0B | 444.76M |
| Sep 3, 2023 | $676.0M | $1.3B | 444.45M |
| Aug 28, 2022 | $439.0M | $1.5B | 444.76M |
From the XBRL of the 10-Ks (cash flow statement and diluted weighted average shares); each year as reported in the latest 10-K that includes it. Concepts: buybacks = PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock; dividends = PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock; sbc = ShareBasedCompensation; diluted_shares = WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding.
Dividend per share, year by year
Dividends · declared per share, each 10-K; cash paid, cash flow statement
| Fiscal year to | Per share | Against year before | Cash paid out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2026 | $5.54 | ▲+12.6% | $2.5B |
| Aug 31, 2025 | $4.92 | ▼-74.6% | $2.2B |
| Sep 1, 2024 | $19.36 | - | $9.0B |
| Sep 3, 2023 | $3.84 | - | $1.3B |
| Aug 28, 2022 | - | - | $1.5B |
| Sep 1, 2019 | $2.44 | ▲+14.0% | - |
| Sep 2, 2018 | $2.14 | ▼-76.0% | - |
| Sep 3, 2017 | $8.90 | - | - |
Dividend per share as the company tagged it (CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared), from the latest 10-K that reports each year, so a stock split is already in it. A change is left blank when the year before is missing or the jump is more than five times.
Buybacks month by month, and what is left to buy
Share buybacks · 10-Q, Part II Item 2, latest 4 quarters
“Our share repurchase program is conducted under a $4,000 authorization approved by our Board of Directors in January 2023, which expires in January 2027.”
10-Q, Part II Item 2
Spent each month (shares × average price)
| Month | Shares bought | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 61,000 | $999.96 |
| Apr 2026 | 62,000 | $994.33 |
| Mar 2026 | 61,000 | $998.15 |
| Feb 2026 | 72,000 | $977.69 |
| Jan 2026 | 78,000 | $894.05 |
| Dec 2025 | 79,000 | $884.85 |
| Nov 2025 | 76,000 | $915.59 |
| Oct 2025 | 75,000 | $928.84 |
| Sep 2025 | 74,000 | $952.37 |
| May 2025 | 71,000 | $988.05 |
| Apr 2025 | 76,000 | $922.61 |
| Mar 2025 | 68,000 | $1025.03 |
Shares and average price are the numbers in the 10-Q table, row by row; "shares × price" is our multiplication of the two. A row with a price of "-" is an accelerated repurchase paid up front, where the 10-Q does not give a price yet. A 10-Q that counts shares in millions gives a rounded number, shown as "about". Shares withheld for employees' taxes are not in this table. A month that no 10-Q table gives, or that this page could not read with confidence, is not shown.
What it paid for each share it bought back
Price paid · 10-K, statement of shareholders' equity
What COST paid on average for each share it bought back, each fiscal year: dollars spent divided by shares bought, both from the 10-K.
| Fiscal year to | Shares bought | Spent | Average price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2026 | 891K | $847.0M | $950.62 |
| Aug 31, 2025 | 943K | $903.0M | $957.58 |
| Sep 1, 2024 | 1.00M | $698.0M | $695.22 |
| Sep 3, 2023 | 1.34M | $677.0M | $504.85 |
| Aug 28, 2022 | 863K | $442.0M | $512.17 |
| Aug 29, 2021 | 1.36M | $495.0M | $364.51 |
| Aug 30, 2020 | 643K | $198.0M | $307.93 |
| Sep 1, 2019 | 1.10M | $247.0M | $225.16 |
| Sep 2, 2018 | 1.76M | $322.0M | $183.37 |
| Sep 3, 2017 | 3.00M | $473.0M | $157.77 |
Shares and dollars from the statement of shareholders' equity (the cash flow line also counts shares withheld for taxes, so it is not used). Share counts filed before a stock split are put on today's count. A year where the 10-K does not tag both numbers is left out.
What the 10-Ks show for each CEO's years
Each CEO's years · the CEO of each fiscal year as named in the proxy's pay versus performance table
Ron M. Vachris
- Operating cash flow
- $13.3B
- Capital spending
- $5.5B
- Buybacks
- $903.0M
- Dividends
- $2.2B
- Stock-based pay
- $860.0M
- Diluted shares since FY2024
- +0.0%
- Revenue since FY2024
- +8%
- Debt since FY2024
- -$109.0M
- CEO pay (reported)
- $13.9M
Ron M. Vachris, W. Craig Jelinek
- Operating cash flow
- $11.3B
- Capital spending
- $4.7B
- Buybacks
- $700.0M
- Dividends
- $9.0B
- Stock-based pay
- $818.0M
- Diluted shares since FY2023
- +0.1%
- Revenue since FY2023
- +5%
- Debt since FY2023
- -$561.0M
- CEO pay (reported)
- $28.3M
W. Craig Jelinek
- Operating cash flow
- $27.4B
- Capital spending
- $11.8B
- Buybacks
- $1.6B
- Dividends
- $8.5B
- Stock-based pay
- $2.2B
- Diluted shares since FY2020
- +0.1%
- Revenue since FY2020
- +45%
- Debt since FY2020
- -$1.2B
- CEO pay (reported)
- $35.6M
Sources
The cash flow statement, dividends per share and diluted share count in each 10-K's XBRL; Part II Item 2 of each 10-Q for monthly buybacks; offering prospectuses (S-3, 424B) for new shares; Form D data sets for private raises.
Also
CEO pay: what the CEO was paid over the same years.
Work with it
Excel workbook · CSV. Google Sheet that stays up to date: paste =IMPORTDATA("https://tickdelta.com/company/COST/export.csv") into a cell.