Costco Wholesale Corp (COST)

Debt-to-equity ratio

		Feb 18, 2024	Nov 26, 2023	Sep 3, 2023	May 7, 2023	Feb 12, 2023	Nov 20, 2022	Aug 28, 2022	May 8, 2022	Feb 13, 2022	Nov 21, 2021	Aug 29, 2021	May 9, 2021	Feb 14, 2021	Nov 22, 2020	Aug 30, 2020	May 10, 2020	Feb 16, 2020	Nov 24, 2019	Sep 1, 2019	May 12, 2019
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	5,865,000	5,866,000	5,377,000	6,497,000	6,506,000	6,472,000	6,484,000	6,507,000	6,658,000	6,667,000	6,692,000	7,495,000	7,522,000	7,529,000	7,514,000	7,598,000	5,099,000	5,107,000	5,124,000	4,799,000
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	20,760,000	26,147,000	25,058,000	23,568,000	22,794,000	21,471,000	20,642,000	19,968,000	19,418,000	18,463,000	17,564,000	16,482,000	15,652,000	14,860,000	18,284,000	16,802,000	16,614,000	15,861,000	15,243,000	14,486,000
Debt-to-equity ratio		0.28	0.22	0.21	0.28	0.29	0.30	0.31	0.33	0.34	0.36	0.38	0.45	0.48	0.51	0.41	0.45	0.31	0.32	0.34	0.33

February 18, 2024 calculation

Debt-to-equity ratio = Long-term debt ÷ Total stockholders’ equity
= $5,865,000K ÷ $20,760,000K
= 0.28

The debt-to-equity ratio of Costco Wholesale Corp has shown some fluctuations over the past several quarters. In general, a lower debt-to-equity ratio indicates a lower level of financial leverage and less reliance on debt financing.

From February 2019 to November 2020, the ratio ranged from 0.28 to 0.51, with some upward trend observed. However, from November 2020 to September 2023, the ratio fluctuated between 0.21 and 0.38, with a slight decrease in the ratio noted.

The most recent data from February 2024 shows a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. This indicates that for every dollar of equity, the company has 28 cents in debt. Overall, the company's debt-to-equity ratio has remained relatively stable, suggesting a balanced approach to capital structure management. Continued monitoring of this ratio will be important to assess the company's leverage and financial risk profile.