Costco Raises Membership Fees Effective September 1, Shares Jump 2.9%

Jul 11, 2024, 10:03 AM

Costco Wholesale Corp. has announced an increase in its annual membership fees for the first time since 2017. Effective September 1, 2024, the basic Gold Star and Business memberships will rise by $5 to $65 annually in the U.S. and Canada, and the Executive memberships will increase by $10 to $130. Additionally, the maximum annual 2% reward associated with the Executive Membership will increase from $1,000 to $1,250. This fee hike will impact around 52 million memberships, a little over half of which are Executive memberships. Following the announcement, Costco shares jumped 2.9% in post-market trading. The company also reported strong June sales, with net sales of $24.48 billion, up 7.4% year-over-year, and total comparable sales up 5.3%. Analysts have responded positively, with BofA raising its price target on Costco to $962 from $874.