Week of September 19 to 25, 2026 · written October 23, 2026 from that week's filings
A good quarter feels the same whether the customers paid for it or a refund did. It isn't the same. This week, two companies show the difference.
AutoZone's stores open a year sold just 1.5% more in its latest quarter. Yet profit per share rose to $56.05, from $48.71. Part of the gap is a cheque. AutoZone says tariff refunds were the biggest reason its margin on goods rose. Costco had refunds too, worth 15 cents a share, one time.
Nobody did anything wrong here. Both companies told us plainly. The trouble is in us. A good number feels like good news, and we rarely ask where it came from.
A shop that sells more groceries and a shop that gets a tax rebate both have more in the till. Only one of them earned it from customers.
A number is only as good as where it came from. Finding that out takes a minute, and it's the minute that matters.
That's the Quiet Room question: did the extra profit come from customers, or from a cheque? Two companies show the cheque; two show the ordinary way.
Costco: strong sales, plus a refund.
In the 16 weeks to August 30, sales grew 11.2%, to $93.9 billion. Profit per share was $6.75, against $5.87 a year before. Costco says 15 cents of that was a one-time benefit from tariff refunds. Stores open a year sold 9.4% more, or 6.7% if you leave out gas prices and currency. Gas prices, it turns out, are not a membership perk.
AutoZone: a refund in the margin.
In the 16 weeks to August 29, sales grew 5.6%, to $6.6 billion. Tariff refunds were the largest reason its margin on goods rose. The chief executive spoke of "a difficult selling environment the first eight weeks of our quarter." That is candid, and worth more than a cheerful adjective.