Earnings Unscripted: Stock Earnings Calls & Analysis

Costco (COST) Q2-26 earnings: The ChatGPT pricing hack & a diluted membership moat


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Costco’s Q2 2026 results reveal a wholesale juggernaut adjusting its strategy for the AI era while grappling with the consequences of a sky-high stock price.


In ~10 minutes:

• How Costco is actively formatting pricing data for ChatGPT.

• Why a $1,000 stock price essentially delays the special dividend.

• Details on a new 8-second automated checkout pilot.

• Why surging e-commerce signups are diluting their fabled renewal moat.


The wholesale machine is still humming, driving revenue up 3.4% sequentially to $69.59 billion as they heavily slash staple prices to drive volume. But underneath the hood, massive digital sign-ups are actively dragging down historic renewal rates. Plus, we explore the mathematical irony of a share price so high that a special cash payout would register as a disappointing percentage yield to Wall Street.


Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) | Q2 FY2026

AI-assisted production. Feedback/ticker requests: https://x.com/EarnUnscripted.

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Earnings Unscripted: Stock Earnings Calls & AnalysisBy Miro Benes