Jennifer Saibil, The Motley Fool

Sat, Jun 7, 2025, 5:30 AM5 min read

• Shoppers flock to Costco's warehouses when there's pressure in the economy.

• Members continue to join at strong rates, and the fee hike is helping the bottom line.

• Costco is investing in technology and carving out its place in e-commerce.

• 10 stocks we like better than Costco Wholesale ›

Market-crushing stocks come in a few different forms. They're not always the young tech stocks that often dominate the conversation. You can find great value stocks and dividend stocks that beat the market, and they're also lower-risk and might come with passive income.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) is a monster stock that continues to crush the market, and it has done so over almost any time period you would look at. Let's see why, and whether or not that can continue.

Costco operates 905 stores globally and 624 stores in the U.S. alone. It's known for its razor-thin margins that result in some of the lowest prices you can find anywhere, which is why it succeeds even when there's economic pressure.

Here's a snapshot of how it's been doing over the past year. Costco's fiscal year starts Sept. 2.

Data source: Costco quarterly reports. All growth is year over year.

Management said that due to its limited product line, global footprint, and scale, it has been able to keep prices low despite the pressured macroeconomy, and it even lowered prices on some items like eggs and butter. Its popular owned brand, Kirkland Signature, is cheaper to produce and has been outpacing overall sales. Average ticket was up only 0.4% year over year in the quarter, but shopping frequency was up 5.2%.

This specifically helped Costco skirt the raised tariffs in the company's fiscal 2025 third quarter (ended May 11). Because it's a global company with a robust supply chain, Costco was able to reroute some of its products to different locations and avoid higher tariffs. The market loves Costco's resilience and stability, and this is one way you can see it clearly in action.

Outside of the usual metrics that give the financial picture, Costco provides membership figures that tell a deeper story. Membership fee income increased 10.4% year over year in the third quarter, and 4.6% of the fee income came from the $5 fee hike that started in September. U.S. and Canada renewal rates were 92.7%, with global rates at 90.2%, and household members increased 6.6% from last year.