Yahoo Finance Names Costco 2022's Company Of The Year

ISSAQUAH, WA — Yahoo Finance on Monday named Costco Wholesale Corporation its company of the year, citing the Issaquah-based retailer's strong financial performance, appeal and leadership, even as ballooning inflation sent consumer prices soaring elsewhere.

"The retail warehouse giant opted not to raise the cost of a membership even as rival Sam's Club did," Yahoo Finance wrote. "Costco served up some of the cheapest gas prices in town when prices at the pump were sizzling in the summer months. The company was often the last grocer to raise prices on household essentials despite biting prices hikes from vendors."

Yahoo Finance noted how Costco refused even to budge on the price of its famous $1.50 hot dog, all while keeping employee compensation among the best across major retailers. Researchers said Costco logged a new record for membership renewals in the fall and kept prices at its gas stations cheaper than anywhere else in the country.

As the company held its ground, profits rose 17 percent and Costco posted double-digit sales gains nearly every month of the year.

The first Costco warehouse opened in Seattle in 1983, and the company's headquarters moved from Kirkland to Issaquah in 1994. Now America's third-largest retailer and 13th-largest public company, Costco employs more than 300,000 workers and operates nearly 850 locations in the United States and 14 other countries. The retailer's expanding headquarters at Issaquah's Pickering Place was designed to accommodate 4,000 corporate employees.

>> Learn more about how Yahoo Finance picked Costco as Company of the Year.