Costco Sets $13.3 Billion Dividend and Renews $4 Billion Buyback

Costco Wholesale announced a $30-per-share special dividend totaling about $13.3 billion, payable December 4 to shareholders of record at the close of business November 24. The company also renewed its authorization to repurchase up to $4 billion in stock through November 2030.

The dividend is Costco’s largest special payout to date and twice the $15 per share it paid in January 2024. The new payment is in addition to the retailer’s regular quarterly dividend. Costco’s announcement did not specify how it would fund the dividend or the buyback.

The buyback authorization replaces a $4 billion program adopted in 2023 and scheduled to expire in January 2027. Costco had repurchased $3.1 billion of stock under that plan, leaving about $900 million of its capacity unused.

Costco has issued special dividends every few years since 2012, when it paid $7 per share. Subsequent payments were $5 in 2015, $7 in 2017, $10 in 2020 and $15 in 2024. The latest payout is about twice the total cost of the 2024 dividend, which was approximately $6.7 billion.

The announcement followed the company’s report of October net sales of $24.50 billion, up 12.6% from $21.75 billion a year earlier. Comparable...