Where I live on the Treasure Coast in Florida, my city has a Costco distribution center, the actual closest warehouse sits maybe 20 minutes away in a city with slightly wealthier residents.

That location opened fairly recently which means that it’s likely to be many years before the warehouse club opens, or really even considers opening in my town. That’s because Costco often locates new warehouses in places where they can lessen the stress on existing locations.

“So we find with many of The US and Canada warehouses where we’re filling in, we can accelerate the sales very quickly because Costco is known. We’re we’re sort of filling capacity where maybe there’s some very busy warehouse around,” Costco CFO Gary Millerchip shared during the company’s second quarter earnings call.

Essentially, stores open in places where they know they will have a member base that already lives close by.

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“It really helps the economic model with getting returns from the quick acceleration in sales growth. And then in the international markets or places where we have less penetration of warehouses, it really drives a significant increase in new member count.

Now, Costco has a new plan to accelerate its expansion by being open to a new idea when it comes to building warehouses.

Costco’s warehouse opening plans

• Costco plans to open about 28 new warehouses in fiscal year 2026, continuing its long‑term expansion strategy of more than 30 new stores annually while investing heavily in new facilities and technology, according to comments made during its Q2 earnings call.
• In fiscal year 2025 (through Aug 31), Costco projected 29 new warehouses, with 26 net new buildings and three relocations, including both U.S. and international sites, reported Fox 5 Atlanta.
• International expansion continues: around 10 of the new 2025 warehouses are expected outside the U.S. across Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia, according to executive comments.
• Some new openings have been made public, Brentwood & Highland, California; Prosper, Texas; Weatherford, Texas; Genesee County, Michigan; and Sharon, Massachusetts are among the new warehouses opening in late 2025, reported FOX 11 Los Angeles

  A new Costco in Guilderland, New York is under construction and expected to open in August 2026, adding a 163,000 sq ft warehouse, according to the Times Union.

  In Richland, Washington, Costco’s second warehouse in the Tri‑Cities area is slated to open in August 2025, reported Tri-Cities Business News.

  Plans have been approved for two large warehouses near Tracy, California, including a 1.2 milllion square foot facility and another 500,000 sq ft site, expected to generate jobs and local tax revenue once complete, shared HERE Beverly Hills.

  In Broward County, Florida (Pompano Beach), Costco is planned as an anchor for a large mixed‑use development set to open in fall 2027, expanding presence in South Florida, Miami New Times reported.

Costco has been opening more warehouse than ever before.

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Costco has a new plan for faster growth

Traditionally, Costco opens 20-25 new warehouse locations a year, but it has stepped that up, according to comments from Ron Vachris.

“While delays with a couple of our buildings in Spain resulted in us revising our planned net new openings for fiscal year 2026 down to 28, we continue to plan for 30-plus net openings per year in future years,” he said.

The company as taken a number of steps to make that happen.

“We’ve increased the size of our real estate team to support this goal, and without compromising on quality, we’re being creative with real estate projects to further increase the potential for future growth. Recent examples of this include our new warehouse in Moulouse, France, where we converted an old hypermart into a Costco warehouse, as well as two Canadian business centers that opened in the last month, both of which were refurbished home improvement warehouses,” he added.

Using existing buildings rather than doing a full new build is a change in how Costco has traditionally operated.

“This approach broadens our options for market expansion and lowers the capital investment required. In addition to opening net new buildings, we will continue to relocate select high-volume warehouses to larger locations with more parking and expanded gas stations,” he shared.

All plans are based on keeping members happy.

“By doing this, we’re able to provide a better experience for our members and significantly accelerate sales growth in those markets. In fiscal year 2026, we have five relocations planned, including three in the U.S., and one each in Canada and Taiwan. The success of our new warehouse expansion has allowed us to consistently drive top-line revenue well in excess of our comparable sales and gain significant market share,” Vachris shared.

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Costco is in heavy demand

“Consumers are dying for a Costco to open up near their town…How do I know? Shoppers told us. Repeatedly,” shared Jenna Telesca on Supermarket News.

Telesca explained why consumers want Costco.

“This fervor for Costco is impressive. These shoppers are begging for a chance to buy from Costco. I’ve seen this sort of enthusiasm before for Trader Joes, too,” she wrote. “It’s not surprising these two retailers are sought after because they have a few things in common. Both are known for affordable prices, limited SKUs and commitment to quality products. “While this certainly isn’t the only formula for success, these companies have both left shoppers wanting more. “

Costo and its warehouse club rivals also have become popular with social media influencers, according to the research report, “Influencers & Discount Clubs 2024.”

“Among influencers, 81% of respondents have an active discount club membership, and 93% of influencers have recommended a product they purchased inside a store to someone else,” the reported showed.

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We continue to see improvements in the performance of our new buildings and a reduction in their time to maturity. With fiscal year 2025 openings generating an annualized $192 million per warehouse of sales in the year of opening, that is up from $150 million for new warehouses opened just two years earlier.

We continue to see significant opportunities for future warehouse growth, both domestically and across the international markets where we operate.