Top Line Momentum Persists But Questions On Member Growth Into F'27... 

Research evidence excerpt

Top Line Momentum Persists But Questions On Member Growth Into F'27...

delivery of 7 min and 45 seconds recently). An example given is that the need for immediate

delivery of a 48 Pack of Toilet Paper is likely less than that of other products.

(=/+) Competitive Landscape Remains Rational. Costco noted that its value gap vs peers has actually widened recently,

despite concerns about promotions at risk of stepping up in the industry from Kroger and Tariff Refunds being distributed

later this year. BJ's has come up in our recent investor conversations as getting incrementally more competitive and

entering new markets. While Costco is monitoring changes here, they haven't changed their strategy, but it does make

them focus more on improving throughput and potentially relieving pressure on the 100 clubs that are doing more

than $400mm in annual sales. Overcrowded Clubs can sometimes provide an opening for customers to move to easier-

to-shop formats. How Costco ultimately manages the Tariff Refunds it receives from the CBP will be an interesting

competitive change later this year and into 2027 (this process just started in May 2026).

(+) Early Hours Access Is Now Largely in the Base; It Took a Few Months to Ramp Up. Early-hour access for exec

members, introduced ~1 year ago, has helped with Executive Member retention and is also driving incremental sign-ups.

It took a few months to ramp up, but this is now a pretty mature shopping hour that is fully in the base. As a reminder,

the extra hour officially launched a year ago on June 30th.

(+/=) Costco Continues to Have Strong Retail Media Advantages; ROAS Proven Today. Retail media revenue

continues to ramp. Costco has proven ROAS with several large vendors and recently launched a data partnership with