Costco Wholesale (COST +0.49%) pays regular and reliable quarterly dividends, but the warehouse retailer is also known for paying large special dividends intermittently. There's no guessing precisely when such payouts will happen, however, and when Costco reported its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings on Sept. 24, there was no announcement of one. That means that its next special dividend likely won't come until 2027, at the earliest.
Those extra payouts are nice bonuses that reward long-term shareholders. But even if Costco doesn't pay one out next year, it's worth owning for anyone seeking a growth stock with recession-resistant characteristics.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Costco's special dividend history
While there's no guarantee about when Costco will next pay a special dividend, looking at its payout history over the last few years, a pattern emerges:
- 2024 payout: $15
- 2020 payout: $10
- 2017 payout: $7
- 2015 payout: $5
- 2012 payout: $7
Special dividend payouts typically come every two to four years. The shortest interval between them was 2015 to 2017, while the longest was 2020 to 2024.
So 2027 would fall comfortably into the mid-range of its usual timeline. In addition, as of the end of August, Costco reported having $20.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its books, up 42.6% from $14.1 billion a year earlier. That could indicate Costco's in a position to consider deploying some of that capital toward a special dividend soon.
NASDAQ: COST
Key Data Points
The case for investing in Costco
There are plenty of more fundamental reasons to like this stock as a long-term investment. Although it's a retailer, Costco has built a devoted following thanks to its bulk pricing and Kirkland Signature, its exclusive private-label brand. That loyalty showed up in Costco's fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings, with global membership renewal rates at nearly 90%, while renewal rates in North America sat even higher at 92.3%.
That type of stickiness is pivotal in times of rising inflation, when more folks look to cut memberships and subscriptions to save money. While a streaming video or music service may be the first to go, people are likely to keep paying for their Costco memberships because of the bulk deals the chain provides them on household essentials and groceries. They view the membership as paying for itself.
And not only are its existing members largely holding on to their memberships, but Costco is also continuing to grow its customer base. In the fourth quarter, paid memberships increased 3.8% to 84.1 million, and total cardholders increased 3.6% to 150.4 million.
Also, while it's typically not the first company that comes to mind as a growth stock in the age of artificial intelligence, it does have revenue growth opportunities that can be scaled to drive greater profitability. Costco ended fiscal 2025 with 914 stores, finished fiscal 2026 with 939, and plans to bring that total to 967 stores in fiscal 2027. On top of all that, its modest quarterly dividend, which yields 0.6% at the current share price, adds to its total return potential.
For all those reasons alone, I'd consider Costco a stock worth owning now, and would view the potential for special dividends as a bonus feature.
