Costco: A Warehouse in the Infinite

Costco’s continued, if modest, growth is not, perhaps, a testament to its inherent virtues, but to the inherent predictability of human need. It offers, in essence, a circumscribed universe of goods, a finite selection within an infinite realm of possibility. The reported increases – single-digit revenue gains, quarterly echoes of a consistent pattern – are merely the inevitable consequence of this limitation. The membership model, a recurring subscription to this contained world, creates a form of temporal inertia, a self-perpetuating cycle. Sales increased by 8.2% in the first fiscal quarter of 2026 (ended November 23, 2025), a figure that, while not spectacular, possesses a certain…geometric inevitability. Digitally enabled sales, a modern echo of the ancient bazaar, rose by 20.5%. The December results, with sales up 8.5% and digitally enabled sales at 18.9%, are simply further iterations of this established pattern. One suspects that even a decline would not entirely dissuade the faithful.






