Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports October Sales Results

 | Source: Costco Costco

ISSAQUAH, WA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 2, 2006 -- Costco Wholesale Corporation ("Costco") (NASDAQ: COST) today reported net sales of $4.59 billion for the month of October, the four weeks ended October 29, 2006, an increase of 8 percent from $4.26 billion in the same four-week period last year.

For the first nine weeks of its reporting period ended October 29, 2006, the Company reported net sales of $10.15 billion, an increase of 8 percent from $9.40 billion during the similar nine-week period of the prior year.

Comparable sales for the four-week and nine-week periods ended October 29, 2006, were as follows: 

                   4 Weeks       9 Weeks
                   -------       -------
US                    2%            2%
International        11%           11%

Total Company         4%            4%
                   =======       =======
Costco currently operates 493 warehouses, including 364 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 68 in Canada, 18 in the United Kingdom, five in Korea, four in Taiwan, five in Japan and 29 in Mexico. 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 an additional 11 new warehouses prior to the end of calendar year 2006.

Additional discussion of these sales results is available on a pre-recorded telephone message. You can access the recording by dialing 1-877-836-2673 (conference ID 2328213). This recorded message will be available today through 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday, November 3, 2006.

Certain statements contained in this document 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, 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 and workers' compensation costs), rising costs associated with the acquisition of merchandise (including the direct and indirect effects of the rising cost of petroleum-based products and fuel and energy costs), 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.

Contact Information: CONTACTS: Costco Wholesale Corporation Richard Galanti 425/313-8203 Bob Nelson 425/313-8255 Jeff Elliott 425/313-8264

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