Jim Cramer sends a message on Costco stock

While the overall economy has struggled, Costco has been a steady success story as consumers look for value.

CEO Ron Vachris explained his company's strategy during its second-quarter earnings call.

"At Costco, we always want to be the first to lower prices and the last to raise them. During the second quarter, we lowered prices on key items such as eggs, cheese, coffee, and some paper products as we saw lower inflation in these commodities. We will continue to be a pricing authority, and as some tariffs have been reduced, we are lowering prices on affected items such as certain textiles, bedding, and cookware SKUs," he shared.

That led to a strong quarter, according to CFO Gary Millerchip.

"Net income for the second quarter came in at $2.035 billion or $4.58 per diluted share, up nearly 14% from $1.788 billion or $4.02 per diluted share in the second quarter last year. Net sales for the second quarter were $68.24 billion, an increase of 9.1% from $62.53 billion in Q2 2025. Comparable sales were up 7.4% or 6.7% adjusted for gas price deflation and FX," he said.

Those are strong number which led to Jim Cramer making some strong comments on the warehouse club's stock.

Cramer speaks up on Costco

Cramer spoke about Costco on the April 24 episode of his CNBC Mad Money show.

"Okay, Costco sells at 49 times earnings. That's where it's been, 47, 49 for the last couple of years. It's never cheap, never ever cheap. And it is always terrific. It's one of the longest-owning stocks we have for the Charitable Trust," he said.

That does not mean the talk show host has never doubted the warehouse club.

"And believe me, when it fell down to below $900, that was the opportunity. When it hit $850, I was nervous like everybody else. It just kept going down. But boy, I think it's just sensational. Would I buy it right here? The answer is buy, buy, buy," he said,

Cramer noted that the current economy benefits Costco in two key ways.

"Okay, the catalyst, two catalysts. One is that they have the cheapest gasoline in the country. They tend to, and people sign up for gasoline, and then they sign up for the card, and the card is where the money is made. And two, they are the inflation fighter, and I don't think a soul thinks that inflation isn't coming back. So I like Costco for those two reasons, and it is also a lot of fun to shop at," he added.

High gas prices help Costco

As gas prices rise, more members tend to visit Costco to fill up their tanks and shop at its warehouses.

"On gas, generally speaking, we see about half of the members who will shop at the gas station will also cross-shop at the warehouse," CFO Gary Millerchip said.

Gas prices have been rising, according to data from AAA.

AAA said gas prices have reached their highest level in years, approaching levels last seen in mid-2022.

"After ticking down for nearly two weeks, gas prices are going back up again, with the national average seeing a 27-cent hike in one week. The national average is $1.12 higher than it was this time last year, as oil prices surge above $100/barrel with no indication of when the Strait of Hormuz will reopen," the auto club shared.

That's good news for Costco.

"Generally speaking, if gas prices start to increase, then we tend to see our value position resonates better with members just because, obviously, we want to be the pricing authority on gas. And so when prices are higher, that will tend to cause members to maybe take the extra mile that it might be involved to get to the gas station because of the incremental value they see there," he added.

Related: Costco quietly changes its $1.50 hot dog deal

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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 10:32 AM.