Costco Wholesale Corp.
Industry: Retail (Specialty)

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouses that offer members very low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and selected private label products in a wide range of merchandise categories.

Business Summary
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouses based on the concept of offering members very low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and selected private-label products in a wide range of merchandise categories. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2004 (fiscal 2004), Costco operated 417 warehouse clubs, of which 327 were in the United States, 63 were in Canada, 15 were in the United Kingdom, five were in Korea, three were in Taiwan and four were in Japan. In fiscal 2004, the Company operated, through a 50%-owned joint venture, of which Costco is the managing partner 24 warehouses in Mexico.

Financial Summary
For the fiscal year ended 28 August 2005, Costco Wholesale Corp.'s revenues increased 10% to $52.94B. Net income rose 20% to $1.06B. Revenues reflect an increase in comparable warehouse sales. Net income also reflects an increase in operating margin. COST operates warehouses that offer low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and selected private label products in a wide range of categories in no-frills, self-service warehouses.