Costco Wholesale Corp. (Costco), renowned for its low prices on bulk packages of branded goods, has established itself as a major warehouse retailer in the U.S. and globally. Since its initial launch in Seattle in 1983 under the direction of founders Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman, it has experienced exponential growth. After brief incorporation as PriceCostco post-merger with Price Club, it reassumed the Costco name in 1997. Today, Costco boasts over 127 million members who have access to nearly 860 Costco warehouses worldwide and online.
Between June 2023 and May 2024, Costco reported a revenue of $248.8 billion and operating income of $8.5 billion. With a market capitalization of $349 billion, it counts a number of prominent figures and institutions as its leading shareholders - notably Craig Jelinek, Charles Munger, Patrick Callans, Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc., and State Street Corp.
Within Costco's corporation, "insider"is a term designating senior managers, board directors, and shareholders of more than 10% of the company's stock. The shares owned by these individuals are direct holdings, excluding those indirectly held or procured through stock options. Any insider transactions of a significant size are recorded via an SEC Form 4.
Former CEO Craig Jelinek owns around 0.09% of all outstanding shares, equating to 391,535 shares. Despite retiring from his CEO position in January 2024, Jelinek continued in an advisory role until the following Spring. With a career at Costco spanning several decades, he oversaw significant growth for the company, including an expansion into China.
The late Charles Munger, who passed away in November 2023, possessed 187,180 shares or approximately 0.04% of all outstanding shares at Costco. He served as an independent director for Costco since 1997 and was also vice-chair at Berkshire Hathaway and chaired Daily Journal Corporation.
Executive vice president of Administration, Patrick Callans, is another noteworthy insider, with around 0.01% of all shares, totalling 62,895. Callan previously served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Risk Management after initially joining Costco as corporate counsel in 1994.
Institutional shareholders, according to Whale Wisdom, hold approximately 71.79% of Costco's outstanding shares. The top three institutional stakeholders are Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc., and State Street Corp. As of May 2024, Vanguard held a 9.21% share, equating to 40.83 million shares, BlackRock held a 7.29% share with 32.35 million shares and State Street held a 4.21% share with 18.7 million shares. Each of these institutions primarily manages mutual funds and ETFs, and each includes Costco within its largest exchange-traded funds.