Costco Wholesale will raise its annual membership fees for the first time since 2017 effective Sept. 1, affecting 52 million membership holders across the U.S. and Canada.
The Issaquah-based wholesaler announced Wednesday it will increase its U.S. and Canada Gold Star, Business and Business add-on membership from $60 to $65. Additionally, Costco is raising the price of Executive Memberships from $120 to $130.
Along with the increase in membership fees, Costco will up its annual 2% reward maximum cash back from $1,000 to $1,250 on the Executive Membership.
The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In 2023, Costco collected $4.7 billion in membership fees, an 8% increase from the previous year.
Business Insider reported earlier Wednesday that CEO Ron Vachris announced a raise for service assistants, service clerks and meat cutters by $1 per hour across the pay scale.
Vachris took the position of CEO in January after Craig Jelinek, who held the position for 11 years, stepped down. The wholesaler also appointed Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip, a longtime Kroger executive, in March, succeeding Richard Galanti.
The increase in membership fees has been a long time coming. In September, Galanti said during an earnings call that a fee hike was a matter of “when, not if.”
Costco also said Wednesday that U.S. comparable sales, excluding gasoline, grew 6.3% in June from a year ago.
Costco shares rose 2.4% in extended trading in New York. The stock has gained 34% this year through Wednesday’s close, according to Bloomberg.
Costco, which opened its first store in Seattle in 1983, operates 882 warehouses, including 609 in the United States and Puerto Rico and 108 in Canada.
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