Costco Wholesale Free Cash Flow (FCF) History (COST)

Costco Wholesale reported $7.84B in free cash flow for fiscal 2025, an increase of 18.22% from the previous fiscal year, with a free cash flow margin of 2.85%.

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Costco Wholesale free cash flow by year

Costco Wholesale annual free cash flow

Fiscal yearPeriod endedFree cash flowChangeGrowthFCF margin
20252025-08-31$7.84B$1.21B+18.22%+2.85%
20242024-09-01$6.63B−$116.0M−1.72%+2.61%
20232023-09-03$6.75B$3.24B+92.66%+2.78%
20222022-08-28$3.50B−$1.87B−34.80%+1.54%
20212021-08-29$5.37B−$681.0M−11.25%+2.74%
20202020-08-30$6.05B$3.25B+115.72%+3.63%
20182018-09-02$2.81B−$1.42B−33.59%+1.98%
20172017-09-03$4.22B$3.58B+556.92%+3.27%
20162016-08-28$643.0M−$1.25B−66.01%+0.54%
20152015-08-30$1.89B−$99.0M−4.97%+1.63%
20142014-08-31$1.99B$637.0M+47.05%+1.77%
20132013-09-01$1.35B−$223.0M−14.14%+1.29%
20122012-09-02$1.58B−$331.0M−17.35%+1.59%
20112011-08-28$1.91B$183.0M+10.61%+2.15%
20102010-08-29$1.73B$883.0M+104.87%+2.21%
20092009-08-30$842.0M$235.0M+38.71%+1.18%
20082008-08-31$607.0M+0.84%

Costco Wholesale free cash flow growth trends

Over the last five reported fiscal years, free cash flow grew from $6.05B to $7.84B, a compound annual growth rate of 5.31%. Costco Wholesale's latest reported quarter, Q3 2026, generated $2.04B in free cash flow, a decrease of 12.58% year over year.

About the metric

What free cash flow means

Free cash flow is the cash a company generates from operations after capital expenditures. Positive FCF can fund dividends, buybacks, debt repayment, or reinvestment; negative FCF means capital spending exceeded operating cash flow for that period.

Calculation and source

How free cash flow is calculated

TickerStat calculates free cash flow as SEC-reported operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. FCF margin equals free cash flow divided by revenue. Fiscal periods can differ from calendar years, so the tables include exact period-end dates.

Review Costco Wholesale filings at SEC.gov ↗