Costco announced earlier this year that it would expand the hours of its members-only fuel centers from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., past the typical 6 p.m. closing time of the store. Now, the big box retailer has seen record breaking fuel sales, reported Fox Business.
“CEO Ron Vachris said during Costco’s third-quarter earnings call last week that the company saw ‘two of our all-time highest gallon weeks’ in the U.S. in April. That, according to the Costco CEO, was due to a ‘combination of expanded gas station hours, new gas station openings and lower prices at the pump,’” wrote Fox.
In February, Costco listed the new gas station hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, though the retailer said hours could vary for California and Hawaii.
Per Fox, Costco reporting those two "all-time highest gallon weeks" came after CFO Gary Millerchip previously told analysts and investors in early March that the warehouse retailer had been "pleased so far with the member reaction" to the longer hours and "seeing an improvement in overall usage of the gas stations."
Executives reportedly did not say during the earnings call how many Costco gas stations it opened. The chain had more than 700 globally at the end of 2024, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
In December 2024, Costco teamed up with Electrify America to offer new electric vehicle charging stations at five Costco Wholesale locations. The charging stations feature hyper-fast chargers capable of speeds up to 350 kW.
Other big box retailers like Walmart are also investing in fuel. Walmart is “revamping its convenience services” and will open or remodel more than 45 fuel stations across the United States this year. Walmart currently operates 400+ fuel and convenience stations nationwide, and the new locations will bring the retailer’s store count to more than 450 locations across 34 states.