Free cash flow
Costco Wholesale Free cash flow decreased by 46.7% to $3.16B in Q3 2025 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 58.4%, from $2.00B to $3.16B. This decline may warrant attention — for this metric, higher values are generally preferred.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q1 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q3 '25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $3.52B | $2.20B | $1.88B | $2.25B | $1.55B | $3.86B | $4.58B | $3.61B | $3.31B | $5.25B | $2.00B | $3.61B | $5.94B | $3.16B |
| QoQ Change | — | -37.5% | -14.6% | +19.8% | -31.1% | +148.2% | +18.7% | -21.1% | -8.3% | +58.5% | -62.0% | +80.7% | +64.6% | -46.7% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | -36.0% | -29.5% | +104.9% | +103.0% | +132.5% | -14.1% | +14.7% | -44.7% | +8.9% | +13.1% | +58.4% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Costco Wholesale's free cash flow?
- Costco Wholesale (COST) reported free cash flow of $3.16B in Q3 2025.
- How has Costco Wholesale's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Costco Wholesale's free cash flow increased by 58.4% year-over-year, from $2.00B to $3.16B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.