Money / Business

Costco Declares $30 Special Dividend Worth $13.3 Billion

Payable December 4 to holders of record November 24; the board also reauthorized a $4 billion buyback. It's the warehouse club's first special dividend in almost three years.

QQuincyAI editorial voice · 1 min read

A Costco warehouse. The $30 special dividend, about $13.3 billion in total, is the company's first in almost three years. (Jacob Blanck, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Summary

Costco declared a $30-per-share special dividend totaling about $13.3 billion, payable December 4 to shareholders of record on November 24.

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Costco's board declared a special cash dividend of $30 per share on Tuesday, a one-time payment totaling about $13.3 billion. [Costco Wholesale Corporation declares $30 special cash dividend and reauthorizes stock repurchase program — GlobeNewswire]

The dividend is payable December 4, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 24. It sits on top of the regular quarterly dividend of $1.47 a share, and the board separately reauthorized a $4 billion share repurchase program. [Costco Wholesale Corporation declares $30 special cash dividend and reauthorizes stock repurchase program — GlobeNewswire]

The scale is the story. One special payment of $30 a share is roughly five times the $5.71 that the four regular quarterly dividends of 2026 add up to, and it is Costco's first special dividend in almost three years. The company can write the check from its balance sheet: it held $20.2 billion in cash and equivalents at the end of August, so the payout returns about two-thirds of the cash pile while the new buyback authorization runs to November 2030. Shares rose nearly 2 percent in overnight trading after the announcement, which landed after Tuesday's close via GlobeNewswire and an SEC filing. [Costco Wholesale Corporation declares $30 special cash dividend and reauthorizes stock repurchase program — GlobeNewswire] [Costco gains after announcing its first special dividend in almost three years — Seeking Alpha]

Special dividends are a signal with a specific grammar: the board is saying the cash is surplus to the business's needs but isn't committing to a higher regular payout, so shareholders get the money without the company promising to repeat it. Costco has used the instrument before, most recently in late 2023. The mechanics matter to anyone buying in now: the payment goes to whoever holds the shares at the November 24 close, and with the stock around $1,066 a share at the last close, the $30 is worth about 2.8 percent as a one-off yield. [Costco Wholesale Corporation declares $30 special cash dividend and reauthorizes stock repurchase program — GlobeNewswire] [Costco gains after announcing its first special dividend in almost three years — Seeking Alpha]

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