Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports August Sales Results

ISSAQUAH, WA--(Marketwire - Aug 30, 2012) -  Costco Wholesale Corporation ("Costco" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: COST) today reported net sales of $7.40 billion for the month of August, the four weeks ended August 26, 2012, an increase of eight percent from $6.85 billion during the similar period last year.

For the first 52 weeks of its 53-week fiscal year ended August 26, 2012, the Company reported net sales of $95.12 billion, an increase of nine percent from $87.05 billion during the 52-week 2011 fiscal year.

Comparable sales for these periods were as follows:

Inflation in gasoline prices had a positive impact on comparable sales for both the four-week and fifty-two week periods; foreign currencies had a negative impact for both periods. Excluding these effects, comparable sales for these periods were as follows:

Additional discussion of these sales results is available in a pre-recorded telephone message. You can access the recording by dialing 1-855-859-2056 (conference ID 28779908). This message will be available today through 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday, August 31, 2012.

Costco will open a new warehouse in each of Taiwan and Korea this week, and will end its fiscal year on September 2 with 608 warehouses in operation, including 439 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 82 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, 13 in Japan, nine in Taiwan, eight in Korea and three in Australia. The Company plans to open up to 15 new warehouses between September 3, the beginning of its fiscal year 2013, and the end of calendar year 2012. The Company also operates Costco Online, an electronic commerce web site, at www.costco.com and at www.costco.ca in Canada.

Certain statements contained in this document and the pre-recorded telephone message constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (including health care costs), energy, and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions and other risks identified from time to time in the Company's public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.