Company: COST
Filing Date: 2025-10-08
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000909832-25-000101
Chunk: 15

Company: COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW
Filing Date: 2025-10-08
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 15
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 U.S. and varies in other countries. All paid memberships include a free household card. 

Paid members (except affiliates) are eligible to upgrade to an Executive membership in the U.S., for an additional annual fee of $65. Executive memberships are also available in Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Australia, for which the additional fee varies. Executive members earn a 2% reward on qualified purchases (generally up to a maximum reward of $1,250 per year), redeemable at Costco warehouses. The sales penetration of Executive members represented approximately 73.6% of worldwide net sales in 2025.

Membership at the end of 2025, 2024, and 2023 was made up of the following (in thousands):

202520242023Gold Star68,300 63,700 58,800 Business, including affiliates12,700 12,500 12,200 Total paid members181,000 76,200 71,000 Household cards64,200 60,600 56,900 Total cardholders145,200 136,800 127,900 

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(1)Executive members represented 38,700, 35,400, and 32,300 of total paid members in 2025, 2024, and 2023.

These membership counts include active memberships as well as memberships that have expired and not renewed within the 12 months prior to the reporting date. These expired memberships make up a small percentage of these membership counts, and many of them are subsequently renewed.

Our member renewal rate was 92.3% in the U.S. and Canada and 89.8% worldwide at the end of 2025. That rate, which excludes affiliates of Business members, is a trailing calculation that captures renewals during the period seven to eighteen months prior to the reporting date. Memberships that have an expiration date in the six months prior to the end of our reporting period are excluded from this calculation, regardless of whether or not they have been renewed. Although most members renew prior to expiration, the vast majority of those who renew late do so within six months of expiration. The timing of 

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renewal after expiration is impacted by a variety of factors, such as warehouse openings and promotional activity.

Human Capital

“Take Care of Our Employees,” is a key component of our code of ethics and is fundamental to our commitment to “Take Care of Our Members.” Compensation and