Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports November Sales Results

ISSAQUAH, WA--(Marketwire - Dec 1, 2011) - Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) today reported net sales of $7.51 billion for the month of November, the four weeks ended November 27, 2011, an increase of 11 percent from $6.78 billion during the similar four-week period last year.

For the first thirteen weeks of its reporting period ended November 27, 2011, the Company reported net sales of $23.13 billion, an increase of 12 percent from $20.59 billion during the similar period last year.

Comparable sales for the four-week and thirteen-week periods ended November 27, 2011:

	4 Weeks		13 Weeks
U.S.	9%		10%
International	9%		10%
Total Company	9%		10%

Inflation in gasoline prices had a positive impact on comparable sales; foreign currencies had a slightly negative impact for the four-week period, and a slightly positive impact for the thirteen-week period. Excluding these effects, comparable sales for the four-week and thirteen-week periods were as follows:

	4 Weeks		13 Weeks
U.S.	6%		7%
International	11%		10%
Total Company	7%		7%

Additional discussion of these sales results is available in a pre-recorded telephone message. You can access the recording by dialing 1-800-642-1687 (conference ID 25104304). This message will be available today through 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday, December 2, 2011.

The Company plans to release its operating results for the first quarter (12 weeks) of its 2012 fiscal year ended November 20, 2011 on Thursday, December 8, 2011. A conference call to discuss these results is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. (PT) that day and will be available via webcast on www.costco.com.

Costco currently operates 596 warehouses, including 433 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 82 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, nine in Japan, eight in Taiwan, seven in Korea and three in Australia. The Company also operates Costco Online, an electronic commerce web site, at www.costco.com and at www.costco.ca in Canada. The Company plans to open two additional warehouses in Japan prior to the end of calendar year 2011.

Certain statements contained in this document and the pre-recorded telephone message 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.