Costco's memberships and sales grow strongly
Watch: Monitor upcoming Q3 comparable sales and membership trends for confirmation of sustained growth and margin impact.
Full analysis
Costco grew total paid members 4.8% to 82.1 million and executive members 9.5% to 40.4 million in Q2 2026 despite a fee hike. Worldwide cardholders rose 4.7% to 147.2 million. Average transaction value increased 7.8% including gas inflation, 4.6% excluding it, driven by strong fresh food and nonfood sales growth.
Membership growth alongside rising transaction values signals strong consumer loyalty and inflation resilience, supporting Costco's defensive positioning and revenue momentum amidst macro pressures.
Evidence
7 older signals
Get alerted when COST changes direction
We'll email you when our AI detects a shift — reversals, insider clusters, filing red flags.