Costco Stock Tumbles Following Q2 2025 Earnings Miss, CEO Talks Tariffs

Costco stock took a bit of a beating following the release of its Q2 2025 earnings report, as Reuters detailed, with the company missing on earnings while also beating revenue projections by a slim margin.

The red-and-blue brand delivered earnings per share of $4.02 versus an expected $4.11, according to LSEG analysis. Meanwhile, quarterly revenue came in at $63.72 billion (up 9%), edging out analyst projections of $63.13 billion. And as Investor’s Business Daily underscored, comparable store sales ticked upward by 6.8%, again slightly beating expectations for a 6.4% gain.

Despite the silver lining attached to the somewhat tepid earnings report, one perhaps dampened by the prospect of continued tariffs on the horizon, Costco’s stock price took a turn for the worse.

Shedding 1% of value during extended trading on March 6 following the release of the report, Costco share prices tumbled further on March 7, falling by 7.67% as of 1 p.m. ET to rest at $948.90.

Costco CEO Talks Tariffs, Shrugging Off Major Concerns While Highlighting Others

With the looming threat of continued tariffs due to President Donald Trump’s recent policy advancements in terms of trade, Costco CEO Ron Vachris spoke to several concerns put forward by shareholders and stakeholders.

Indicating that Costco’s iconic “treasure hunt” store layouts and conceptualization allows the warehouse club to be a bit more free concerning its merchandise mix, Vachris noted the possibility of swapping out certain products affected by tariffs for others.

“With our flexibility, there are not many items we can’t find something else to replace, or something else to bring in,” Vachris said.

Per CNBC, Vachris noted that about one-third of Costco’s U.S. sales are imports, and that less than half of said imports were sourced from Canada, China, or Mexico. Despite underlining the fact that Costco’s margins on groceries were “much tighter” than on other product lineups offered by the retailer, the CEO seemed resolved that the warehouse club’s employees would weather the turbulence regardless.

“In uncertain times, our members have historically placed even greater importance on the value of high-quality items at great prices, and our teams will continue to rise to this challenge by leveraging our global buying power, strong supplier relationships and innovation,” Vachris added.

CFO Gary Millerchip was equally positive in his outlook regarding Costco’s immediate future, gesturing toward the relative strength of the consumer spend he foresaw in the days to come.

“We believe that the member is probably as much focused now on quality, value and newness as they have been for quite some time, but they are still showing that willingness to spend,” Millerchip said.