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Sentence-level differences:
- Reworded sentence: "The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return assuming reinvestment of dividends on an investment of $100 in Costco common stock, S&P 500 Index, S&P Retail Select Index, and the previously selected S&P 500 Retail Index over the five years from September 2, 2018, through September 3, 2023."
- Reworded sentence: "Average Sales Per Warehouse*(Sales In Millions)Year Opened# of Whses202323$151 202223$150 158 202120$140 158 172 202013$132 152 184 193 201920$129 138 172 208 216 201821$116 119 141 172 202 214 201726$121 142 158 176 206 237 247 201629$87 97 118 131 145 173 204 212 201523$83 85 94 112 122 136 163 189 199 2014 & Before663$164 165 165 170 184 191 201 228 259 268 Totals861$164 $162 $159 $163 $176 $182 $192 $217 $245 $252 2014201520162017201820192020202120222023Fiscal Year*First year sales annualized.2017 and 2023 were 53-week fiscal years but have been normalized for purposes of comparability Item 6—Reserved 19 19 19 Table of Contents Table of Contents Item 7—Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations (amounts in millions, except per share, share, membership fee, and warehouse count data) The following Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to promote understanding of the results of operations and financial condition."
- Reworded sentence: "This section generally discusses the results of operations for 2023 compared to 2022."
- Reworded sentence: "Comparable sales is defined as net sales from warehouses open for more than one year, including remodels, relocations and expansions, and sales related to e-commerce websites operating for more than one year."
- Reworded sentence: "Sales comparisons can also be particularly influenced by certain factors that are beyond our control: fluctuations in currency exchange rates (with respect to our international operations); inflation or deflation and changes in the cost of gasoline and associated competitive conditions."
Current (2023):
The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return assuming reinvestment of dividends on an investment of $100 in Costco common stock, S&P 500 Index, S&P Retail Select Index, and the previously selected S&P 500 Retail Index over the five years from September 2,…
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The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return assuming reinvestment of dividends on an investment of $100 in Costco common stock, S&P 500 Index, S&P Retail Select Index, and the previously selected S&P 500 Retail Index over the five years from September 2, 2018, through September 3, 2023. The S&P Retail Select Index will prospectively replace in the graph the S&P 500 Retail Index to show a broader representation of industry performance and a broader index of peers. The following graph provides information concerning average sales per warehouse over a 10-year period. Average Sales Per Warehouse*(Sales In Millions)Year Opened# of Whses202323$151 202223$150 158 202120$140 158 172 202013$132 152 184 193 201920$129 138 172 208 216 201821$116 119 141 172 202 214 201726$121 142 158 176 206 237 247 201629$87 97 118 131 145 173 204 212 201523$83 85 94 112 122 136 163 189 199 2014 & Before663$164 165 165 170 184 191 201 228 259 268 Totals861$164 $162 $159 $163 $176 $182 $192 $217 $245 $252 2014201520162017201820192020202120222023Fiscal Year*First year sales annualized.2017 and 2023 were 53-week fiscal years but have been normalized for purposes of comparability Item 6—Reserved 19 19 19 Table of Contents Table of Contents Item 7—Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations (amounts in millions, except per share, share, membership fee, and warehouse count data) The following Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to promote understanding of the results of operations and financial condition. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K). This section generally discusses the results of operations for 2023 compared to 2022. For discussion related to the results of operations and changes in financial condition for 2022 compared to 2021 refer to Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our fiscal year 2022 Form 10-K, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 5, 2022. Overview We believe that the most important driver of our profitability is increasing net sales, particularly comparable sales. Net sales includes our core merchandise categories (foods and sundries, non-foods, and fresh foods), warehouse ancillary (gasoline, pharmacy, optical, food court, hearing aids, and tire installation) and other businesses (e-commerce, business centers, travel and other). Comparable sales is defined as net sales from warehouses open for more than one year, including remodels, relocations and expansions, and sales related to e-commerce websites operating for more than one year. The measure is intended as supplemental information and is not a substitute for net sales presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP). Comparable sales growth is achieved through increasing shopping frequency from new and existing members and the amount they spend on each visit (average ticket). Sales comparisons can also be particularly influenced by certain factors that are beyond our control: fluctuations in currency exchange rates (with respect to our international operations); inflation or deflation and changes in the cost of gasoline and associated competitive conditions. The higher our comparable sales exclusive of these items, the more we can leverage our SG&A expenses, reducing them as a percentage of sales and enhancing profitability. Generating comparable sales growth is foremost a question of making available to our members the right merchandise at the right prices, a skill that we believe we have repeatedly demonstrated over the long-term. Another substantial factor in net sales growth is the health of the economies in which we do business, including the effects of inflation or deflation, especially the United States. Net sales growth and gross margins are also impacted by our competition, which is vigorous and widespread, across a wide range of global, national and regional wholesalers and retailers, including those with e-commerce operations. While we cannot control or reliably predict general economic health or changes in competition, we believe that we have been successful historically in adapting our business to these changes, such as through adjustments to our pricing and merchandise mix, including increasing the penetration of our private-label items, and through online offerings. Our philosophy is to provide our members with quality goods and services at competitive prices. We do not focus in the short-term on maximizing prices charged, but instead seek to maintain what we believe is a perception among our members of our “pricing authority” – consistently providing the most competitive values. Merchandise costs in 2023 continued to be impacted by inflation, however at a lower rate than what we experienced in 2022. The impact to our net sales and gross margin is influenced in part by our merchandising and pricing strategies in response to cost increases. Those strategies can include, but are not limited to, working with our suppliers to share in absorbing cost increases, earlier-than-usual purchasing and in greater volumes, as well as passing cost increases on to our members. Our investments in merchandise pricing may include reducing prices on merchandise to drive sales or meet competition and holding prices steady despite cost increases instead of passing the increases on to our members, all negatively impacting gross margin and gross margin as a percentage of net sales (gross margin percentage). 20 20 20 Table of Contents Table of Contents We believe our gasoline business enhances traffic in our warehouses, but it generally has a lower gross margin percentage and lower SG&A expense, relative to our non-gasoline businesses. A higher penetration of gasoline sales will generally lower our gross margin percentage. Rapidly changing gasoline prices may significantly impact our near-term net sales growth. Generally, rising gasoline prices benefit net sales growth which, given the higher sales base, negatively impacts our gross margin percentage but decreases our SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales. A decline in gasoline prices has the inverse effect. Government actions in various countries relating to tariffs, particularly China and the United States, have affected the costs of some of our merchandise. The degree of our exposure is dependent on (among other things) the type of goods, rates imposed, and timing of the tariffs. Higher tariffs could adversely impact our results. We also achieve net sales growth by opening new warehouses. As our warehouse base grows, available and desirable sites become more difficult to secure, and square footage growth becomes a comparatively less substantial component of growth. The negative aspects of such growth, however, including lower initial operating profitability relative to existing warehouses and cannibalization of sales at existing warehouses when openings occur in existing markets, are continuing to decline in significance as they relate to the results of our total operations. Our rate of square footage growth is generally higher in foreign markets, due to the smaller base in those markets, and we expect that to continue. Our e-commerce business, domestically and internationally, generally has a lower gross margin percentage than our warehouse operations. The membership format is an integral part of our business and has a significant effect on our profitability. This format is designed to reinforce member loyalty and provide continuing fee revenue. The extent to which we achieve growth in our membership base, increase the penetration of our Executive members, and sustain high renewal rates materially influences our profitability. Our paid-membership growth rate may be adversely impacted when warehouse openings occur in existing markets as compared to new markets. Our financial performance depends heavily on controlling costs. While we believe that we have achieved successes in this area, some significant costs are partially outside our control, particularly health care and utility expenses. With respect to the compensation of our employees, our philosophy is not to seek to minimize their wages and benefits. Rather, we believe that achieving our longer-term objectives of reducing employee turnover and enhancing employee satisfaction requires maintaining compensation levels that are better than the industry average for much of our workforce. This may cause us, for example, to absorb costs that other employers might seek to pass through to their workforces. Because our business operates on very low margins, modest changes in various items in the consolidated statements of income, particularly merchandise costs and SG&A expenses, can have substantial impacts on net income. Our operating model is generally the same across our U.S., Canadian, and Other International operating segments (see Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Report). Certain operations in the Other International segment have relatively higher rates of square footage growth, lower wage and benefit costs as a percentage of sales, less or no direct membership warehouse competition, or lack e-commerce or business delivery. In discussions of our consolidated operating results, we refer to the impact of changes in foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar, which are differences between the foreign-exchange rates we use to convert the financial results of our international operations from local currencies into U.S. dollars. This impact of foreign-exchange rate changes is calculated based on the difference between the current and prior period's currency exchange rates. The impact of changes in gasoline prices on net sales is calculated based on the difference between the current and prior period's average price per gallon sold. Results expressed excluding the impacts of foreign exchange and gasoline prices should be reviewed in conjunction with results reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. 21 21 21 Table of Contents Table of Contents Our fiscal year ends on the Sunday closest to August 31. References to 2023 relate to the 53-week fiscal year ended September 3, 2023. References to 2022 and 2021 relate to the 52-week fiscal years ended August 28, 2022, and August 29, 2021. Certain percentages presented are calculated using actual results prior to rounding. Unless otherwise noted, references to net income relate to net income attributable to Costco. Highlights for 2023 versus 2022 include: •We opened 26 new warehouses, including three relocations: 13 net new in the U.S. and 10 new in our Other International segment. We opened the same number of new warehouses, including relocations, in 2022; •Net sales increased 7% to $237,710, driven by a 3% increase in comparable sales, sales at new warehouses opened in 2022 and 2023, and the benefit of one additional week of sales in 2023; •Membership fee revenue increased 8% to $4,580, driven by new member sign-ups, upgrades to Executive membership, and one additional week of membership fees in 2023; •Gross margin percentage increased nine basis points, driven primarily by a smaller LIFO charge in 2023 compared to 2022 and our core merchandise categories. This was partially offset by charges of $391, predominantly related to the discontinuation of our charter shipping activities; •SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales increased 20 basis points, due to increased costs in warehouse operations and other businesses, primarily wage increases effective in March and July 2022, and March 2023, as well as lower sales growth; •The effective tax rate in 2023 was 25.9%, compared to 24.6% in 2022; •Net income increased 8% to $6,292, or $14.16 per diluted share compared to $5,844, or $13.14 per diluted share in 2022; •In January 2023, the Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program in the amount of $4,000; and •In April 2023, the Board of Directors approved a 13% increase in the quarterly cash dividend. 22 22 22 Table of Contents Table of Contents
View prior text (2022)
The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return assuming reinvestment of dividends on an investment of $100 in Costco common stock, S&P 500 Index, and the S&P 500 Retail Index over the five years from September 3, 2017, through August 28, 2022. The following graph provides information concerning average sales per warehouse over a 10-year period. Average Sales Per Warehouse*(Sales In Millions)Year Opened# of Whses202223$150 202120$140 158 202013$132 152 184 201920$129 138 172 208 201821$116 119 141 172 202 201726$121 142 158 176 206 237 201629$87 97 118 131 145 173 204 201523$83 85 94 112 122 136 163 189 201430$108 109 115 125 140 144 155 182 208 2013 & Before633$160 167 168 167 173 186 193 203 230 261 Totals838160 164 162 159 163 176 182 192 217 245 2013201420152016201720182019202020212022Fiscal Year*First year sales annualized.2017 was a 53-week fiscal year but it has been normalized for purposes of comparability Item 6—Reserved 21 21 21 Table of Contents Table of Contents Item 7—Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations (amounts in millions, except per share, share, membership fee, and warehouse count data) The following Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to promote understanding of the results of operations and financial condition. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements (Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K). This section generally discusses the results of operations for 2022 compared to 2021. For discussion related to the results of operations and changes in financial condition for 2021 compared to 2020 refer to Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our fiscal year 2021 Form 10-K, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 6, 2021. Overview We believe that the most important driver of our profitability is increasing net sales, particularly comparable sales. Net sales includes our core merchandise categories (foods and sundries, non-foods, and fresh foods), warehouse ancillary (gasoline, pharmacy, optical, food court, hearing aids, and tire installation) and other businesses (e-commerce, business centers, travel and other). We define comparable sales as net sales from warehouses open for more than one year, including remodels, relocations and expansions, and sales related to e-commerce websites operating for more than one year. Comparable sales growth is achieved through increasing shopping frequency from new and existing members and the amount they spend on each visit (average ticket). Sales comparisons can also be particularly influenced by certain factors that are beyond our control: fluctuations in currency exchange rates (with respect to our international operations); inflation and changes in the cost of gasoline and associated competitive conditions. The higher our comparable sales exclusive of these items, the more we can leverage our SG&A expenses, reducing them as a percentage of sales and enhancing profitability. Generating comparable sales growth is foremost a question of making available to our members the right merchandise at the right prices, a skill that we believe we have repeatedly demonstrated over the long-term. Another substantial factor in net sales growth is the health of the economies in which we do business, including the effects of inflation or deflation, especially the United States. Net sales growth and gross margins are also impacted by our competition, which is vigorous and widespread, across a wide range of global, national and regional wholesalers and retailers, including those with e-commerce operations. While we cannot control or reliably predict general economic health or changes in competition, we believe that we have been successful historically in adapting our business to these changes, such as through adjustments to our pricing and merchandise mix, including increasing the penetration of our private-label items, and through online offerings. Our philosophy is to provide our members with quality goods and services at competitive prices. We do not focus in the short-term on maximizing prices charged, but instead seek to maintain what we believe is a perception among our members of our “pricing authority” – consistently providing the most competitive values. Merchandise costs in 2022 were impacted by inflation higher than what we have experienced in recent years. The impact to our net sales and gross margin is influenced in part by our merchandising and pricing strategies in response to cost increases. Those strategies can include, but are not limited to, working with our suppliers to share in absorbing cost increases, earlier-than-usual purchasing and in greater volumes, offering seasonal merchandise outside its season, as well as passing cost increases on to our members. Our investments in merchandise pricing may include reducing prices on merchandise to drive sales or meet competition and holding prices steady despite cost increases instead of passing the increases on to our members, all negatively impacting gross margin and gross margin as a percentage of net sales (gross margin percentage). We believe our gasoline business enhances traffic in our warehouses, but it generally has a lower gross margin percentage relative to our non-gasoline business. It also has lower SG&A expenses as a percent of net sales compared to our non-gasoline business. A higher penetration of gasoline sales will generally lower our gross margin percentage. Rapidly changing gasoline prices may significantly impact our near- 22 22 22 Table of Contents Table of Contents term net sales growth. Generally, rising gasoline prices benefit net sales growth which, given the higher sales base, negatively impacts our gross margin percentage but decreases our SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales. A decline in gasoline prices has the inverse effect. Additionally, actions in various countries, particularly China and the United States, have affected the costs of some of our merchandise. The degree of our exposure is dependent on (among other things) the type of goods, rates imposed, and timing of the tariffs. Higher tariffs could adversely impact our results. We also achieve net sales growth by opening new warehouses. As our warehouse base grows, available and desirable sites become more difficult to secure, and square footage growth becomes a comparatively less substantial component of growth. The negative aspects of such growth, however, including lower initial operating profitability relative to existing warehouses and cannibalization of sales at existing warehouses when openings occur in existing markets, are continuing to decline in significance as they relate to the results of our total operations. Our rate of square footage growth is generally higher in foreign markets, due to the smaller base in those markets, and we expect that to continue. Our e-commerce business growth, domestically and internationally, has also increased our sales but it generally has a lower gross margin percentage relative to our warehouse operations. E-commerce sales growth slowed in 2022 compared to 2021 and 2020. The membership format is an integral part of our business and has a significant effect on our profitability. This format is designed to reinforce member loyalty and provide continuing fee revenue. The extent to which we achieve growth in our membership base, increase the penetration of our Executive members, and sustain high renewal rates materially influences our profitability. Our paid membership growth rate may be adversely impacted when warehouse openings occur in existing markets as compared to new markets. Our financial performance depends heavily on controlling costs. While we believe that we have achieved successes in this area, some significant costs are partially outside our control, particularly health care and utility expenses. With respect to the compensation of our employees, our philosophy is not to seek to minimize their wages and benefits. Rather, we believe that achieving our longer-term objectives of reducing employee turnover and enhancing employee satisfaction requires maintaining compensation levels that are better than the industry average for much of our workforce. This may cause us, for example, to absorb costs that other employers might seek to pass through to their workforces. Because our business operates on very low margins, modest changes in various items in the consolidated statements of income, particularly merchandise costs and SG&A expenses, can have substantial impacts on net income. Our operating model is generally the same across our U.S., Canadian, and Other International operating segments (see Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Report). Certain operations in the Other International segment have relatively higher rates of square footage growth, lower wage and benefit costs as a percentage of sales, less or no direct membership warehouse competition, or lack e-commerce or business delivery. In discussions of our consolidated operating results, we refer to the impact of changes in foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar, which are the differences between the foreign-exchange rates we use to convert the financial results of our international operations from local currencies into U.S. dollars. This impact of foreign-exchange rate changes is calculated based on the difference between the current period's currency exchange rates and that of the comparable prior period. The impact of changes in gasoline prices on net sales is calculated based on the difference between the current period's average price per gallon sold and that of the comparable prior period. Our fiscal year ends on the Sunday closest to August 31. References to 2022, 2021, and 2020 relate to the 52-week fiscal years ended August 28, 2022, August 29, 2021, and August 30, 2020, respectively. Certain percentages presented are calculated using actual results prior to rounding. Unless otherwise noted, references to net income relate to net income attributable to Costco. 23 23 23 Table of Contents Table of Contents Highlights for 2022 versus 2021 include: •We opened 26 new warehouses, including 3 relocations: 14 net new in the U.S., 2 net new in our Canadian segment, and 7 new in our Other International segment, compared to 22 new warehouses, including 2 relocations in 2021; •Net sales increased 16% to $222,730 driven by a 14% increase in comparable sales and sales at new warehouses opened in 2021 and 2022; •Membership fee revenue increased 9% to $4,224, driven by new member sign-ups, upgrades to Executive membership, and an increase in our renewal rate; •Gross margin percentage decreased 65 basis points, driven primarily by our core merchandise categories and a LIFO charge for higher merchandise costs; •SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales decreased 77 basis points, primarily due to leveraging increased sales and ceasing of incremental wages related to COVID-19, despite additional wage and benefits increases; •We incurred a one-time $77 pretax charge, primarily related to granting our employees one additional day of paid time off in March 2022; •The effective tax rate in 2022 was 24.6% compared to 24.0% in 2021; •Net income increased 17% to $5,844, or $13.14 per diluted share compared to $5,007, or $11.27 per diluted share in 2021; •In June 2022, the Company paid a cash dividend of $208 and purchased the remaining equity interest of its Taiwan operations from its former joint-venture partner for $842, totaling $1,050 in the aggregate; and •In April 2022, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the quarterly cash dividend from $0.79 to $0.90 per share. COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact our business during 2022, albeit to a lesser extent. COVID-related and other supply and logistics constraints have continued to adversely affect some merchandise categories and are expected to do so for the foreseeable future. During 2021, we paid $515 in incremental wages related to COVID-19, which ceased in February 2021. 24 24 24 Table of Contents Table of Contents