Who Owns Costco? Shareholders, Not a Family or a Parent Company

Nobody controls Costco. No shareholder owns 10%, and its directors and executives together own less than 1%.

Who are Costco's biggest shareholders?

Costco's December 2025 proxy listed only two holders above 5%, as of November 7, 2025:

Percentages are based on 443,957,682 shares outstanding on November 7, 2025. Costco reported 443,129,349 shares outstanding on September 29, 2026.

Vanguard and BlackRock hold those shares mostly for index funds and other clients, so their stakes reflect what millions of fund investors own rather than a strategic bet. Costco's next proxy, for its January 21, 2027 annual meeting, will update this table.

Insiders hold little. CEO Ron Vachris owned 52,258 shares and chairman Hamilton James 56,689, each less than 1%, in the 2025 proxy.

Who runs Costco?

Vachris was President and Chief Operating Officer from February 2022 to January 2024 and ran merchandising before that, according to the proxy. His calendar 2025 contract set a salary of $1.2 million. For fiscal 2027, Costco's board set his base bonus at $1.2 million, in an 8-K filed October 16, 2026.

James, a former Blackstone executive, has been on Costco's board since August 1988 and became non-executive chairman in August 2017.

Who founded Costco?

James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman. Costco began operations in 1983 in Seattle, and both men were co-founders, according to Costco's filings. Sinegal was President and Chief Operating Officer from 1983 and CEO from 1988 until he retired at the start of 2012. Brotman was chairman from the start, apart from a stretch as vice chairman after the 1993 merger, until his death on August 1, 2017.

Every Costco CEO

Sources: Costco 10-K405 for fiscal 2000; Costco proxies of December 2011 and December 2025.

Every Costco CEO has been promoted from inside, and each spent decades in the warehouses first. Before August 1988, Sinegal ran the company as President and Chief Operating Officer while Jeffrey Brotman was chairman.

Costco ownership timeline

1. 1976

   The Price Company pioneers the membership warehouse concept

   Source: Costco 10-K, 2000

2. 1983

   Costco, co-founded by Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman, begins operations in Seattle

   Source: Costco 10-K, 2000

3. 1988

   Sinegal becomes CEO in August

   Source: Costco 10-K, 2000

4. 1993

   Costco merges with The Price Company in October to form Price/Costco, Inc.; Sinegal stays CEO and Brotman becomes vice chairman

   Source: Costco 10-K, 2000

5. 1994

   Brotman returns as chairman in December

   Source: Costco 10-K, 2000

6. 1997

   After spinning off most non-warehouse assets to Price Enterprises, the company is renamed Costco Companies, Inc.

   Source: Costco 10-K, 2000

7. 1999

   Reincorporates in Washington state as Costco Wholesale Corporation, Nasdaq: COST

   Source: Costco 10-K, 2000

8. 2012

   Sinegal retires; Craig Jelinek becomes CEO on January 1

   Source: Costco proxy, 2011

9. 2017

   Brotman dies on August 1; Hamilton James becomes non-executive chairman

   Source: Costco proxy, 2017

10. 2024

    Ron Vachris becomes CEO in January

    Source: Costco proxy, 2025

11. 2025

    Vanguard (9.79%) and BlackRock (7.83%) are the only holders above 5%

    Source: Costco proxy, December 2025

How big is Costco?

Costco's 10-K for the 52 weeks ended August 30, 2026:

Of the 939 warehouses at August 30, 2026, 292 (31%) were outside the US, across Canada, Mexico, Japan, the UK, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Sweden, Iceland and New Zealand. The US membership fee is $65 a year, and renewal was 92.3% in the US and Canada and 89.8% worldwide.

Membership fees are small next to sales but large next to profit: the $5.9 billion members paid in fiscal 2026 equals about 64% of Costco's $9.2 billion net income.

Is Costco owned by Walmart or Amazon?

No. Costco is independent, and its filings report no stake held by Walmart or Amazon. Walmart runs Costco's closest rival, Sam's Club, as one of its own segments, according to Walmart's 10-K. Costco's 10-K lists other warehouse club operators among its competitors.

Who owns Kirkland Signature?

Costco does. Kirkland Signature is Costco's own private-label brand, and its 10-K says Kirkland products "generally carry higher margins than national brand products and represent a growing portion of our overall sales." Costco's suppliers make Kirkland products, but the brand belongs to Costco.

Can you buy Costco stock?

Yes. Costco trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as COST. Shareholders get a quarterly dividend: on October 14, 2026 the board declared $1.47 a share, payable November 13, 2026. The market value of shares held by non-affiliates was $451.6 billion on February 15, 2026, according to the 10-K.

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