Stocks / COST
What If You Had Invested in Costco 10 Years Ago?
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
COST $1,065.59 ▲ +1.83% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in COST in November 2016, today it would be worth
$8,390
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into COST since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$196,654
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
COST live price chart
COST returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 2026 | $1.4700 | +0.0% | ||
| Jul 24, 2026 | $1.4700 | +0.0% | ||
| May 01, 2026 | $1.4700 | +13.1% | ||
| Jan 30, 2026 | $1.3000 | +0.0% | ||
| Oct 31, 2025 | $1.3000 | +0.0% | ||
| Aug 01, 2025 | $1.3000 | +0.0% | ||
| May 02, 2025 | $1.3000 | +12.1% | ||
| Feb 07, 2025 | $1.1600 | +0.0% | ||
| Nov 01, 2024 | $1.1600 | +0.0% | ||
| Jul 26, 2024 | $1.1600 | +0.0% | ||
| Apr 25, 2024 | $1.1600 | +13.7% | ||
| Feb 01, 2024 | $1.0200 | — |
COST year by year
Best full year: 1997 (+77.6%). Worst: 2002 (-36.8%).
| Year | COST | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +24.3% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | -5.4% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +39.6% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +49.0% | +26.2% | |
| 2022 | -19.0% | -18.2% | Costco fell with the market as rates rose but recovered quickly. |
| 2021 | +51.8% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +32.7% | +18.3% | |
| 2019 | +45.7% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | +10.6% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +22.4% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | +0.3% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | +18.9% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | +20.5% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | +21.8% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +28.4% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | +16.7% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | +23.7% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +14.3% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | -24.0% | -36.8% | The global financial crisis. Bank failures and a deep recession made this one of the worst years for stocks since the 1930s. Costco recovered faster than most retailers. |
| 2007 | +33.2% | +5.1% |
COST: all at once or every month?
Take $12,000: all of it on day one, or $1,000 a month for a year. Across every starting month since 1986 (473 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 346 (73%). The lump sum usually won, but roughly one start in 4 favored spreading it out. The best case for monthly investing was a start in February 1992, when it finished the year 50% ahead.
Worst drop
COST's worst fall in this history was -59.4%, a loss of more than half, from August 1991 to December 1994. Getting back to the old high took until May 1997: 29 months from the bottom and 5.8 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $406 at the low.
Costco dividends
COST paid $5.71 per share over the last 12 months, quarterly. At $1,065.59 that is 0.54%, a small yield; nearly all of the return has come from the price. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly payout grew -16.9% a year, in reverse: the payout shrank. The yearly total fell in 2016, 2018, 2021, 2024. Special one-time dividends make some years look bigger than the next. Amounts are adjusted for splits.
| Year | Dividends / share | Change | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $5.06 | +12.4% | 0.59% |
| 2024 | $4.50 | -76.3% | 0.49% |
| 2023 | $18.96 | +443.3% | 2.87% |
| 2022 | $3.49 | +13.7% | 0.76% |
| 2021 | $3.07 | -75.9% | 0.54% |
| 2020 | $12.75 | +406.0% | 3.38% |
| 2019 | $2.52 | +14.0% | 0.86% |
| 2018 | $2.21 | -75.3% | 1.08% |
| 2017 | $8.95 | +411.4% | 4.81% |
| 2016 | $1.75 | -73.3% | 1.09% |
Yield = each year’s dividends divided by the price at the end of the year.
COST dividend history: last 12 payments
| Ex-dividend date | Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 2026 | $1.4700 | +0.0% |
| Jul 24, 2026 | $1.4700 | +0.0% |
| May 01, 2026 | $1.4700 | +13.1% |
| Jan 30, 2026 | $1.3000 | +0.0% |
| Oct 31, 2025 | $1.3000 | +0.0% |
| Aug 01, 2025 | $1.3000 | +0.0% |
| May 02, 2025 | $1.3000 | +12.1% |
| Feb 07, 2025 | $1.1600 | +0.0% |
| Nov 01, 2024 | $1.1600 | +0.0% |
| Jul 26, 2024 | $1.1600 | +0.0% |
| Apr 25, 2024 | $1.1600 | +13.7% |
| Feb 01, 2024 | $1.0200 | — |
Stock splits
- October 1993: 2-for-1
- January 2000: 2-for-1
One share bought before 1993 is 4 shares today.
About Costco
| Company | Costco Wholesale Corporation |
| Listed | 1985 (Nasdaq) |
| Sector | Consumer staples (retail) |
| Dividend | Regular plus occasional special dividends |
Costco runs membership warehouse stores. Much of its profit comes from membership fees rather than from the goods, which it sells at thin margins. Renewal rates above 90% make the business unusually predictable.
Besides a regular quarterly dividend, Costco has paid several large special dividends, including $15 a share in early 2024. Those are included in the total return here.
Questions about COST
How much would $10,000 invested in COST 20 years ago be worth today?
About $298,720 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 2887.2% in total, or 18.5% a year.
When does COST pay dividends?
In the last 12 months the payments went out in January, May, July and October, $5.71 per share in total.
Did COST beat the S&P 500?
Yes. Over the last 20 years it was ahead by 7.9 percentage points a year: +18.5% a year for COST against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. It also fell harder at its worst (-59.4% against -50.8% for SPY over the same history).