Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) stock is trading higher Friday after the company reported fourth-quarter financial results Thursday after market close, with both revenue and earnings per share beating analyst estimates. Here’s how gas prices and tariff refunds could be helping the company.
• Costco Wholesale stock is moving in positive territory. Why are COST shares climbing?
Record Gas Results
Higher gas prices across the country have consumers frequenting Costco locations and using their membership cards more, company executives said during the fourth-quarter conference call.
"Our gas business has had a record year driven by members seeking value in Costco Wholesale’s top-tier gasoline," Costco CEO Ron Vachris said.
Vachris said U.S. member households that bought gas at Costco hit an all-time high in fiscal year 2026.
"During the fiscal year, we estimate we saved our members over $3.2 billion versus the average price at the pump in markets where we operate."
Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said gas, pharmacy and travel were the ancillary businesses that got a lift in the fourth quarter and highlighted this as examples of how Costco delivers "increased value from a Costco membership."
Millerchip said that gas "was definitely a major impact on top-line sales."
"As members engage more in gas, we tend to find they visit more frequently."
The Costco CFO said the company believes that there are many new members buying gas for the first time at the retailer’s locations, which he called a "great indicator of continued spend and growth with members."
Costco Management on Tariffs
Another big topic from Costco management on the conference call was tariffs, with the company saying it received some tariff refunds in the fourth quarter, which were reinvested to give value back to members.
"This was predominantly through price reductions on a number of items in the second half of the quarter, including everyday items," Vachris said.
According to Millerchip, Costco received $184 million in tariff refund payments in the fourth quarter, which is around one-third of the total refunds expected in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027.
"We intend to continue reinvesting the majority of the dollars we receive in increased member values," Millerchip said.
The Costco CFO said the company’s goal is to give back as much value to members as possible regarding the tariff refunds received.
"We view that very much as giving value back to our members for the tariffs that we pay."
With the gas membership savings and tariff refunds going towards everyday items, Costco is providing more value to members, a move that could see memberships increase, renewals increase and overall visits increase going forward.
Costco Stock Price Action
Costco stock is up 2.6% to $919.50 on Friday versus a 52-week trading range of $844.06 to $1,096.50. Costco stock is up 7.6% year-to-date in 2026.
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