Costco declares a $30 special dividend and renews its buyback
The retailer plans an approximately $13.3 billion payout and replaces its existing repurchase authorization with a new $4 billion program.
Costco declared a special cash dividend of $30 per share, an approximately $13.3 billion payment to shareholders. The board announced the payout Tuesday, alongside a renewed authorization to repurchase up to $4 billion of common stock.
The dates and the distinction
The special dividend is payable December 4, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 24. The announcement gives payment and record dates; it does not state an ex-dividend date.
The new buyback program expires in November 2030. It replaces the $4 billion program adopted in 2023 and scheduled to expire in January 2027, under which Costco had already purchased $3.1 billion of stock. The new authorization should therefore not be added to the full face value of the old one as if both remain available.
Two different ways of returning capital
The dividend is a declared cash payment with a stated schedule. The repurchase program is permission to buy shares over time, not an announcement that Costco has already spent another $4 billion.
The announcement does not specify how either program will be funded. It also does not change the distinction between a shareholder payout and the retailer's operating performance: cash returned to investors is not the same thing as new sales or earnings.
