Costco Wholesale (COST) ROA %

Costco Wholesale Annual Data
	Trend	Aug14	Aug15	Aug16	Aug17	Aug18	Aug19	Aug20	Aug21	Aug22	Aug23
ROA %							8.49	7.93	8.72	9.47	9.45

Costco Wholesale Quarterly Data
	May19	Aug19	Nov19	Feb20	May20	Aug20	Nov20	Feb21	May21	Aug21	Nov21	Feb22	May22	Aug22	Nov22	Feb23	May23	Aug23	Nov23	Feb24
ROA %																8.77	7.80	12.73	8.91	9.96

For the Discount Stores subindustry, Costco Wholesale's ROA %, along with its competitors' market caps and ROA % data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

For the Retail - Defensive industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Costco Wholesale's ROA % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Costco Wholesale's ROA % falls into.

Costco Wholesale ROA % Calculation

Costco Wholesale's annualized ROA % for the fiscal year that ended in Aug. 2023 is calculated as:

Costco Wholesale's annualized ROA % for the quarter that ended in Feb. 2024 is calculated as:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

In the calculation of annual ROA %, the net income of the last fiscal year and the average total assets over the fiscal year are used. In calculating the quarterly data, the Net Income data used here is four times the quarterly (Feb. 2024) net income data. ROA % is displayed in the 30-year financial page.

Costco Wholesale  (NAS:COST) ROA % Explanation

ROA % measures the rate of return on the total assets (shareholder equity plus liabilities). It measures a firm's efficiency at generating profits from shareholders' equity plus its liabilities. ROA % shows how well a company uses what it has to generate earnings. ROA %s can vary drastically across industries. Therefore, ROA % should not be used to compare companies in different industries. For retailers, a ROA % of higher than 5% is expected. For example, Wal-Mart (WMT) has a ROA % of about 8% as of 2012. For banks, ROA % is close to their interest spread. A bank’s ROA % is typically well under 2%.

Similar to ROE, ROA % is affected by profit margins and asset turnover. This can be seen from the Du Pont Formula:

Note: The Net Income data used here is four times the quarterly (Feb. 2024) net income data. The Revenue data used here is four times the quarterly (Feb. 2024) revenue data.

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Be Aware

Like ROE, ROA % is calculated with only 12 months data. Fluctuations in the company's earnings or business cycles can affect the ratio drastically. It is important to look at the ratio from a long term perspective. ROA % can be affected by events such as stock buyback or issuance, and by goodwill, a company's tax rate and its interest payment. ROA % may not reflect the true earning power of the assets. A more accurate measurement is ROC % (ROC).

Many analysts argue the higher return the better. Buffett states that really high ROA % may indicate vulnerability in the durability of the competitive advantage.

E.g. Raising $43b to take on KO is impossible, but $1.7b to take on Moody's is. Although Moody's ROA % and underlying economics is far superior to Coca Cola, the durability is far weaker because of lower entry cost.

Costco Wholesale ROA % Related Terms

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Costco Wholesale (COST) Business Description