Costco Announces Plan to Enter Medicare Advantage Market for the First Time

Costco stock is trending amid several recent developments, but no single confirmed catalyst has been identified for the August 20-21, 2026 trend window. On August 18, 2026, the warehouse retailer announced a partnership with SCAN Health Plan, a California-based nonprofit insurer, to offer Medicare Advantage plans — private insurance plans that bundle Medicare coverage with extra benefits like dental or vision, sold as an alternative to traditional government-run Medicare. Once regulators approve them, it would be Costco’s first entry into that market, according to the companies. Separately, Costco reported strong July sales on August 5, 2026, even as its stock traded well below the record it set in the spring.

Key facts

Partnership: Costco and SCAN Health Plan, a California-based nonprofit insurer, announced August 18, 2026
What’s planned: Medicare Advantage plans in two states, plus a separate Medicare supplement plan in a third — states not yet named
Status: still awaiting regulatory approval; not available to shoppers yet
July sales (reported August 5, 2026): $23.12 billion, up 10.7% year over year
Fiscal year-to-date (48 weeks): $273.55 billion, up 10.1%
Stock range (mid-to-late August): $938 to $961, about 12% to 14% below its all-time closing high
Next earnings: fiscal fourth-quarter results due September 24, 2026

Timeline

April 2026 — Costco’s board approves a 13.1% increase in the quarterly dividend, to $1.47 per share.
May 1, 2026 — Record date for shareholders to qualify for the increased dividend.
May 10, 2026 — Costco’s fiscal third quarter ends; net sales later reported at $69.15 billion.
May 15, 2026 — Increased dividend paid to shareholders.
May 19, 2026 — Costco stock closes at its all-time high, $1,092.58.
August 2, 2026 — The four-week period covered by Costco’s July sales report ends.
August 5, 2026 — Costco publishes its July sales report, showing net sales of $23.12 billion, up 10.7% year over year.
August 18, 2026 — Costco and SCAN Health Plan announce their Medicare Advantage partnership.
August 20, 2026 — One report puts Costco stock at $938.13, down 1.97% for the day.
Around August 30, 2026 — Costco’s fiscal fourth quarter ends.
September 24, 2026 — Costco’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report is scheduled, after market close.

What the Medicare Advantage deal actually offers

Under the partnership, Costco and SCAN plan to sell Medicare Advantage products in two states and a separate Medicare supplement plan in a third. The companies have not said which states, or when the plans will actually go on sale — both are still waiting on regulatory approval, and Costco and SCAN have declined to name them. So the plans are not available to shoppers yet.

Costco and SCAN describe the Medicare Advantage industry — without citing a specific study — as worth more than $500 billion, and say the plan’s benefits will link up with services Costco members already use: its pharmacies, optical centers and hearing centers. It’s a way for Costco to extend its membership model — where it already sells prescriptions, glasses and hearing aids — into insurance whose planned benefits connect to some of those services.

Sales keep climbing

Costco’s July sales report, published August 5, 2026, covered the four weeks that ended August 2, 2026, and showed net sales of $23.12 billion, up 10.7% from $20.89 billion a year earlier. That 10.7% is Costco’s most recent monthly sales growth number; a separate, larger year-to-date figure appears further below. Costco also tracks a narrower number, comparable sales, which strips out new warehouses to measure only stores open at least a year: that figure rose 8.9% company-wide, with U.S. comparable sales up 10.3% and digitally-enabled (online) comparable sales climbing 17.7%.

For the first 48 weeks of its fiscal year, Costco has now brought in $273.55 billion in net sales, up 10.1% from $248.35 billion over the same stretch a year ago. The company operates 933 warehouses worldwide, including 641 in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Latest quarterly report

Costco’s last full quarterly report, for its fiscal third quarter ended May 10, 2026, showed net sales of $69.15 billion, up 11.6% year over year, with net income of $2.19 billion, up from $1.90 billion a year earlier. Diluted EPS was $4.93, up from $4.28, and total-company comparable sales rose 9.8% for the quarter. Membership fees — the subscription revenue that underpins Costco’s business, separate from what it earns selling merchandise — brought in $1.373 billion for that quarter.

Where the stock stands

Stock price

Costco shares have pulled back from where they were in the spring. The stock’s all-time closing high, $1,092.58, was set on May 19, 2026. Closing prices in mid-to-late August were running in roughly the $938 to $961 range — about 12% to 14% below that peak — not a new record, even though at least one financial-news site, ad-hoc-news.de, has described Costco’s stock this month as trading near record highs.

One financial-markets report — not independently confirmed by other sources in our research — put Costco shares at $938.13 on August 20, 2026, down 1.97% for the day, tying the move to broader valuation worries rather than any single piece of company news. By that same account, Costco’s trailing price-to-earnings ratio — a common measure of how expensive a stock is relative to its profits — was around 48, more than double the roughly 20 average for the consumer retailing industry. That’s one explanation offered for the pullback even as the business keeps growing; it isn’t the only explanation on offer, and Costco itself has not commented on the stock’s day-to-day moves.

Dividend

Costco has continued paying shareholders more even as the stock has cooled. In April 2026, its board approved a 13.1% increase in the quarterly dividend, to $1.47 per share from $1.30, paid out May 15 to shareholders on record as of May 1. It was the company’s 22nd consecutive annual dividend increase.

Analyst outlook

Wall Street analysts still largely favor the stock, with a consensus “Buy” rating and 12-month price targets — which vary by tracking site — mostly in the $1,060-to-$1,100 range, implying analysts expect the stock to recover most of its pullback.

What’s next

Costco has not yet reported earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, which covers the period ending around August 30, 2026. That report is scheduled for September 24, 2026, after the market closes. Ahead of it, analysts’ consensus estimates point to earnings of roughly $6.49 to $6.56 per share on revenue near $94.61 billion — estimates, not results, and the only way to know if Costco hit them is to wait for the actual report next month. For the full fiscal year, analysts are looking for earnings per share near $20.09, up about 11.7% from $17.99 in fiscal 2025.