Tariffs have considerably impacted U.S. businesses since early 2025, and while possible refunds may be on some executives' minds, Costco appears to be thinking about its customers first.
Costco CEO Ron Vachris said during an earnings call on March 5, that the company would return any recovered tariff charges to its members "through lower prices and better values."
“As we’ve done in the past, when legal challenges have recovered charges passed on in some form to our members, our commitment will be to find the best way to return this value to our members,” Vachris added.
Despite the promise, Varchis warned that the “future impact of tariffs remains extremely fluid,” and that “it is not yet clear what the process will be, what refunds, if any, will be received, and when this will happen.”
During the same call, Costco executives said the company did not pass the full cost of tariffs to its consumers via increased prices; instead, it absorbed much of the tariff costs.
