Costco Wholesale Corporation Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend


ISSAQUAH, WA--(Marketwire - Oct 30, 2012) - Costco Wholesale Corporation ("Costco" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: COST) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on Costco common stock of $.275 per share. The quarterly dividend is payable November 30, 2012, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 16, 2012.

Costco currently operates 612 warehouses, including 442 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 83 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 also operates Costco Online, an electronic commerce web site, at www.costco.com, at www.costco.ca in Canada, and at www.costco.co.uk in the United Kingdom. The Company plans to open up to ten additional warehouses prior to the end of calendar year 2012.

Certain statements contained in this document 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.

Contact Information:

CONTACTS:
Costco Wholesale Corporation

Richard Galanti
425/313-8203

Bob Nelson
425/313-8255

Jeff Elliott
425/313-8264