Costco Wholesale (COST) Monthly Sales Update March 2026 summary

Sales performance highlights

• Net sales for March reached $28.41 billion, up 11.3% year-over-year despite one less shopping day due to the Easter shift, which negatively impacted sales by about 1.5%.

• Comparable sales for March: U.S. 8.7%, Canada 10.7%, other international 11.9%, total company 9.4%, digitally enabled 23.3%.

• Excluding gas and FX, total company comparable sales were 6.2%; digitally enabled sales grew 22.5%.

• Comp traffic increased 1.5% worldwide and 0.7% in the U.S., with FX and gas price inflation boosting reported sales.

• Average worldwide transaction rose 7.8%, or 4.6% excluding gas and FX.

Comparable sales excluding fuel and FX

• U.S. comparable sales excluding fuel and FX rose 6.2% for March and 6.1% for the 31 weeks.

• Canada saw 5.4% growth for March and 6.2% for the 31 weeks.

• Other international markets increased 7.8% for March and 6.4% for the 31 weeks.

• Digitally-enabled comparable sales excluding fuel and FX grew 22.5% for March and 21.5% for the 31 weeks.

Regional and category trends

• Strongest U.S. regions: Southeast, Midwest, and Los Angeles; internationally: Australia, Japan, and Taiwan.

• Foods and sundries grew low to mid-single digits; fresh foods up mid to high single digits, led by bakery and meat.

• Non-foods increased mid to high single digits, with jewelry, majors, and hardware outperforming.

• Ancillary business sales rose mid-20s, with pharmacy, gas, and Food Court as top performers.

• Gas sales up mid to high 20s, driven by higher prices and volume growth.