Costco puts most of $184 million tariff refund toward lower prices

Costco received $184 million in tariff refunds during its fourth quarter and used most of the money to reduce prices on selected products, company executives said. The amount included $174 million in refunds and $10 million in interest, Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said during an earnings call on Thursday, September 24. Chief Executive Ron Vachris said the company applied the price reductions mainly in the second half of the quarter. Affected items included produce, meat and beverages, as well as some nonfood products such as home furnishings and hardware. Millerchip said Costco spread the reductions across items it believed would have the greatest impact for members. The $184 million represented a little over one-third of the total tariff refunds Costco expects to receive, Millerchip said. By the time of the earnings call, the company had received about the same amount in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 as it did in the prior quarter, he added. The reports do not specify the cumulative amount received across both quarters or when the expected total will be reached. Millerchip said Costco intends to continue directing most refund dollars toward member value.