# Costco — Capital Time Machine

Costco’s 1985 IPO and later combination with Price Club follow different share histories. This profile tracks the original Costco shares, not Price Club’s separate investment path.

Canonical citation: https://capitaltimemachine.com/private/costco

Ticker: COST
Sector: Membership retail
Public-market route: IPO
Evidence reviewed: 2026-09-24

## How to use this research

Selected historical funding and listing evidence, not a complete private cap table or live quote. Funding totals, company valuations and per-share prices are different measures. A hypothetical value is not actual sale proceeds; investor access is not established.

## Funding and listing history

### ipo — Costco public offering

Date: 1985-12-05
Event type: IPO

The original offer was $10 per share. Costco’s FAQ reports approximately $1.67 after stock splits.

Reported price: $10 original; approximately $1.67 adjusted

Source: [Costco investor FAQ](https://investor.costco.com/resources/investor-faqs/)
Source location: December 5, 1985 IPO at $10; approximately $1.67 split-adjusted; one-for-one Costco merger exchange in 1993 and later identity changes.

### merger — PriceCostco combination

Date: 1993-10-21
Event type: Merger

Each original Costco share exchanged for one PriceCostco share. The 2.13 ratio applied to Price Company shares, not Costco shares.

Source: [Costco investor FAQ](https://investor.costco.com/resources/investor-faqs/)
Source location: December 5, 1985 IPO at $10; approximately $1.67 split-adjusted; one-for-one Costco merger exchange in 1993 and later identity changes.

### rename — Costco name and COST ticker

Date: 1997-02
Event type: Identity

PriceCostco became Costco Companies and adopted COST. In August 1999 it became Costco Wholesale Corporation and reincorporated in Washington.

Source: [Costco investor FAQ](https://investor.costco.com/resources/investor-faqs/)
Source location: December 5, 1985 IPO at $10; approximately $1.67 split-adjusted; one-for-one Costco merger exchange in 1993 and later identity changes.

### split2000 — Two-for-one stock split

Date: 2000-01-14
Event type: Share basis

Costco confirmed split-adjusted trading began on January 14, 2000. The published adjusted IPO reference already incorporates this split.

Source: [Costco March 2000 results and split confirmation](https://s201.q4cdn.com/287523651/files/doc_news/2000/03/costco-wholesale-corporation-reports-second-quarter-and-year.pdf)
Source location: March 2, 2000 company release: two-for-one split-adjusted trading began January 14, 2000.

Source: [Costco investor FAQ](https://investor.costco.com/resources/investor-faqs/)
Source location: December 5, 1985 IPO at $10; approximately $1.67 split-adjusted; one-for-one Costco merger exchange in 1993 and later identity changes.

## Documented share calculations

### ipo-reference — IPO reference · about $1.67 adjusted

Starting price: 1.67 USD per starting share
Starting date or context: IPO · Dec 5, 1985 · rounded adjusted reference

Base conversion: 1 common-share equivalents per starting share, before dated public splits

Approximate result using Costco’s published rounded, split-adjusted IPO reference. The 1993 Costco exchange was one-for-one. Use a price on or after the January 14, 2000 split; the IPO reference is already adjusted.

Public trading begins: 1985-12-05
Supported ending dates begin: 2000-01-14
Share basis reviewed through: 2026-09-24

The ending share price and its date must be supplied by the user.

Formula: amount ÷ 1.67 × (1) × applicable dated public splits × ending share price. 

Source: [Costco investor FAQ](https://investor.costco.com/resources/investor-faqs/)
Source location: December 5, 1985 IPO at $10; approximately $1.67 split-adjusted; one-for-one Costco merger exchange in 1993 and later identity changes.

Source: [Costco March 2000 results and split confirmation](https://s201.q4cdn.com/287523651/files/doc_news/2000/03/costco-wholesale-corporation-reports-second-quarter-and-year.pdf)
Source location: March 2, 2000 company release: two-for-one split-adjusted trading began January 14, 2000.

## Later share adjustments

No separate share-class distribution is modeled.

## Coverage gaps and limitations

- The reviewed FAQ does not supply a private-round cash price. IPO reference calculations use its rounded, split-adjusted $1.67 price and are approximate.

- Ending dates before January 14, 2000 are not enabled for this already-adjusted reference. Do not apply earlier splits again.

- Price Club holders’ 2.13 exchange ratio is not applied to Costco holders. Dividends and spin-off distributions are excluded.

Entered prices and later-date share-basis assumptions are unverified. Excludes fees, taxes, dividends, warrants and other distributions; fractional shares are illustrative. Historical investor allocations, minimums and selling rights are not established.

Methodology: https://capitaltimemachine.com/methodology

Research terms: https://capitaltimemachine.com/terms