Costco (COST 1.01%) isn't playing by the same rules as other retailers. The company makes nearly all of its profit from memberships, which means the retail operations can be run at breakeven.

In this video, Travis Hoium goes through the numbers and shows why even the best big-box retailers can't compete with Costco's prices.

*Stock prices used were end-of-day prices of Dec. 1, 2023. The video was published on Dec. 4, 2023.