Costco pulled back the curtain on its real-estate empire as it announced fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday while marking two milestone anniversaries—the 40th year of its famously inflation-proof $1.50 hot-dog-and-soda combo and Kirkland Signature’s 30th birthday.
The Issaquah, Wash.-based wholesaling giant’s expansion remains robust. In the fourth quarter alone, Costco opened 10 new warehouses, and it opened 27 over the full year, including three relocations, for a global total of 914.
CEO Ron Vachris told analysts on the earnings call that the company plans to open 35 warehouses in 2026, including five relocations, adding: “We continue to see significant opportunities for expansion both domestically and internationally across the markets where we currently operate.”
Unlike most major retailers who lean heavily on leasing, Costco actually owns the vast majority of its 900-plus warehouses worldwide, amassing a real-estate portfolio valued at $31.9 billion as of its last quarter.
BJ Feller, managing director at Minnesota real-estate firm Northmarq, made some back-of-the-envelope calculations in a July 2025 LinkedIn post: Costco owns roughly 80% of its sites, at 15 to 20 acres each, conservatively valuing each location at $25 million to $35 million.
“They don’t rely on landlords,” Feller wrote. “They are the landlord. They sell in bulk. They operate in bulk. And they own in bulk.”
CFO Gary Millerchip, who recently took over from his legendary predecessor, the 40-year veteran Richard Galanti, said Thursday that land purchases were made to accommodate “expanded hot dog production” as well as a new coffee roasting facility.
He had some “fun sales facts” for analysts, saying that “everyday value items” are hugely important to shoppers, especially in times of economic uncertainty. In 2025, Costco sold over 245 million hot-dog combos, over 157 million rotisserie chickens, and “enough bath tissue to reach the moon and back over 200 times.”
The $1.50 hot dog and soda combo has come to represent Costco’s promise of perpetual low prices. A case study taught in business schools is how Costco’s first CEO, Jim Sinegal, jokingly warned his successor, Craig Jelinek, in 2008 to never raise the price of the famous combo: “If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you,” he said. “Figure it out.”
Jelinek opened Costco’s own hot-dog-making plant in 2009, and when Fortune’s Phil Wahba profiled the “cult of Costco” in 2024, Galanti told him, “Both of those items are foundational.” (Combo sales stood at 199 million at that point, meaning they’ve grown by over 23% in a little more than a year.)
To mark the 40th anniversary of the hot dog deal, the company rolled out Coca-Cola as the soda partner across food courts worldwide, returning to the roots of the signature combo.
Meanwhile, Kirkland Signature hit the 30-year mark by innovating its product lineup and increasing its share of sales. More than 30 new Kirkland items hit shelves this quarter alone, spanning everything from organic foods to apparel to household goods.
Sourcing is increasingly local—meant to lower costs while reducing environmental impact. Costco’s revered private label offers members 15% to 20% savings compared with national brands, a buffer against tariffs and inflation.
Vachris told analysts that Costco is taking a “very offensive approach … doing everything we can to mitigate tariff impacts.” The last resort, he added, would be to pass on a price increase to the consumer, and even then, “we’re going to be the last one to go up and always the first one to go down.”
Costco did not respond to a request for comment.
Efforts to keep prices low helped fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat forecasts. But Wall Street seemed disappointed to see a continued slowdown in same-store sales. Costco reported a 6.4% increase in same-store sales for the fourth quarter, the second consecutive deceleration in that metric. Costco stock fell as much as 3% on Friday before paring losses to roughly 1.8%.
