Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) over four decades has grown into a major warehouse retailer in the U.S. and abroad by offering low prices on large packages of name-brand products. It sells groceries, appliances, electronics, apparel and other items. The company opened its first Costco warehouse under co-founders Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman in 1983 in Seattle, eventually merging with Price Club 10 years later. After a short period operating as PriceCostco, the company returned to the name Costco in 1997. It has expanded dramatically since then. Costco has nearly 106 million members who purchase long-term memberships to gain access to roughly 800 Costco warehouse stores in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and Latin America, and to make online purchases.
In the trailing 12-month period to Oct. 4, 2021, Costco generated net income of $5.0 billion on revenue of $195.9 billion. The company has a market capitalization of $194.5 billion as of Oct. 4, 2021.
The top individual insider shareholders of Costco are Craig Jelinek, Charles Munger, and Patrick Callans, and the top institutional shareholders are Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc., and State Street Corp.
"Insider" refers to people in senior management positions and members of the board of directors, as well as people or entities that own more than 10% of the company's stock. In this context, it has nothing to do with insider trading.
Top 3 Individual Insider Shareholders
The shares owned by individual insider shareholders are those that are held through direct ownership. Shares mentioned in this section do not include shares held indirectly nor shares accessible through stock options. Company insiders must file anSEC Form 4every time they buy or sell an amount of the company's stock that is deemed to be material.
Craig Jelinek
Craig Jelinek owns 333,075 shares of Costco, or about 0.08% of all outstanding shares. Jelinek has been a director and president of Costco since 2010, and CEO since 2012. During Jelinek's nine years at the helm, Costco has achieved steady growth, including expanding its operations into China. Costco opened its first store in China in 2019 in Shanghai. Jelinek previously held executive positions at Costco in operations and merchandising starting 2004. Jelinek's early career was in warehouse operations after joining Costco in 1984.
Charles Munger
Charles Munger owns 166,489 shares of Costco, or about 0.04% of all outstanding shares. Munger has been an independent director of the company since 1997. He is also vice chairman of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B), and chairman of the board of directors of Daily Journal Corporation.
Patrick Callans
Patrick Callans owns 65,361 shares of Costco, or roughly 0.01% of all outstanding shares. Callans is executive vice president of Administration for Costco, a position he has held since January 2019. Prior to that appointment, Callans was senior vice president of Human Resources and Risk Management. He first joined Costco as corporate counsel in 1994.
Top 3 Institutional Shareholders
According to Whale Wisdom, nearly 2,300 13F filers held Costco stock as of the end of Q2 2021. About 99 of them included Costco in their top 10 holdings. Institutional shareholders own about 67.0% of outstanding Costco shares.
Vanguard Group Inc.
Vanguard Group owns 37.0 million shares of Costco, representing 8.4% of total shares outstanding, according to the company's 13F filing for the period ending June 30, 2021. The company is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with about $7.2 trillion in global assets under management (AUM). The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) is one of the company's largest exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with about $250 billion in AUM. Costco comprises 0.5% of VOO's holdings.
BlackRock Inc.
BlackRock owns 30.0 million shares of Costco, representing 6.8% of total shares outstanding, according to the company's 13F filing for the period ending June 30, 2021. The company is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with approximately $8.7 trillion in AUM. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) is one of BlackRock's largest ETFs with approximately $290 billion in AUM. Costco comprises 0.5% of IVV's holdings.
State Street Corp.
State Street owns 16.8 million shares of Costco, representing 3.8% of total shares outstanding, according to the company's 13F filing for the period ending June 30, 2021. The company is primarily a manager of mutual funds, ETFs and other assets with approximately $3.9 trillion in AUM. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is one of State Street's largest ETFs with approximately $385 billion in AUM. Costco comprises 0.5% of SPY's holdings.
FAQs
Largest shareholders include Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock Inc., State Street Corp, VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares, VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares, Fmr Llc, Morgan Stanley, Geode Capital Management, Llc, Invesco Qqq Trust, Series 1, and Bank Of America Corp /de/ .
What is the religion of the owner of Costco? ›
Jim Sinegal, co-founder (with Seattle retailer Jeff Brotman) and chief executive officer of Costco, the warehouse retail company based in Issaquah, Washington, was born to a Catholic family in 1936 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
What do analysts say about Costco stock? ›
Costco has 9.45% upside potential, based on the analysts' average price target. Is COST a Buy, Sell or Hold? Costco has a conensus rating of Strong Buy which is based on 19 buy ratings, 6 hold ratings and 0 sell ratings. The average price target for Costco is $783.04.
How does Costco reward its shareholders? ›
This consistent source of profits allows Costco's management to reward shareholders on a regular basis. One of its preferred methods is paying a growing dividend. It's paid and increased its dividend for 19 straight years, and I expect this streak to continue for decades to come.
Is Bill Gates a shareholder in Costco? ›
Bill Gates Costco Wholesale Corp
The first Costco Wholesale trade was made in Q3 2002. Since then Bill Gates bought shares ten more times and sold shares on four occasions. The investor sold all their shares in Q4 2012 and doesn't own any shares in Costco Wholesale anymore.
Who makes the most money at Costco? ›
Some of the highest wages a worker can make at Costco are in the job titles Registered Pharmacist ($136,000), and title Full Stack Software Engineer ($133,750) which are the highest paying jobs at Costco.
Is Kirkland owned by Mormons? ›
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Community of Christ announced today the responsibility and ownership of the Kirtland Temple, several historic buildings in Nauvoo, along with manuscripts and artifacts officially transferred from Community of Christ to the Church of Jesus Christ.
Is Costco owner a Democrat? ›
Helena, California. Sinegal is an avowed Democrat and spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Sinegal has hosted President Barack Obama at his home on two occasions. Sinegal received an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College alongside Jake Tapper and others in June 2017.
Who pays more, Costco or Sam's Club? ›
Average employee pay
Costco: Average hourly wage of $20.91/hour, or $43,493/year. Sam's Club: Average hourly wage of $19.31/hour, or $40,165/year.
What is the highest Costco stock has ever been? ›
Historical daily share price chart and data for Costco since 1986 adjusted for splits and dividends. The latest closing stock price for Costco as of April 22, 2024 is 715.46. The all-time high Costco stock closing price was 785.59 on March 07, 2024.
One unique perk Costco offers is its Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). Through this program, employees can purchase Costco stock at a discounted price. Employees can build their wealth by participating in the ESPP and benefit from the company's success.
How much debt does Costco stock have? ›
Costco long term debt for 2021 was $6.692B, a 10.94% decline from 2020.
Is Costco doing well financially? ›
Part of the reason Costco's stock has performed so well is its strong financial performance. Net sales climbed 60% between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2023, a disruptive period of time that included the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, inflationary pressures, and rapidly rising interest rates.
What is Costco stock return for 10 years? ›
Ten Year Stock Price Total Return for Costco Wholesale is calculated as follows: Last Close Price [ 715.46 ] / Adj Prior Close Price [ 92.60 ] (-) 1 (=) Total Return [ 672.6% ] Prior price dividend adjustment factor is 0.81.
What does Costco profit from the most? ›
Key Takeaways. Costco makes some of its profits from its merchandise, but the bulk of its profits come from membership dues. Only members can shop at Costco. The membership business model allows Costco to undersell the competition by offering products in bulk at lower prices to ensure customer loyalty.
Is the founder of Costco a billionaire? ›
From humble beginnings as a grocery bagger to becoming a billionaire business mogul, James Sinegal, co-founder and retired CEO of Costco Wholesale, has etched his name into the annals of American retail history.
What is the owner of Costco salary? ›
For Craig Jelinek's final year as Costco CEO, the 71-year-old is going out with a financial bang. Jelinek's base salary for 2023 was $1.1 million, add to that stock awards of nearly $15 million and other compensation, for a total package worth a very respectable $16.8 million, per Costco's most recent proxy filings.
What is Costco's biggest loss leader? ›
Costco reportedly lost $40M on their rotisserie chickens in 2015. This is known as a "loss leader" (along with other items such as their $1.50 hot dogs). Loss leaders are items sold for less than what they're worth in order to attract customers.
