Week of October 10 to 16, 2026 · written October 23, 2026 from that week's filings
You learn a lot about a company from what it pays its boss for. This week Costco told us, and the share price wasn't on the list.
Costco's chief executive can earn a base bonus of $1.2 million for the 2027 fiscal year. None of it depends on the share price. Of that bonus, $500,000 rides on sales and $500,000 on profit before tax. The other $200,000 rides on environmental and social goals.
It's a small filing, but it shows a way of thinking. The share price moves every minute. Sales and profit move slowly, and they are what an owner actually owns. People who watch the price all day tend to feel richer and poorer by turns. People who watch the business tend to sleep better.
A farmer who pays the hired man by the harvest gets a man who watches the crop. Pay him by land prices, and he watches the auction.
That's the Quiet Room question: what does the business actually earn? Costco shows how its board keeps that count; TSMC shows a quarter where the count came in big.
Costco: the bonus rides on the till.
Executives other than the chief executive have a $400,000 base bonus. Of that, $160,000 rides on sales and $160,000 on profit before tax. Each goal can pay from zero to 120% of its target. Nobody gets a bonus for a good day on the stock exchange.
TSMC: a big harvest.
In the quarter to September 30, sales grew 50.9%, to NT$1,494.24 billion. In U.S. dollars, that is $46.72 billion. Profit per share grew 68.7%, to NT$29.43. For the quarter to December, it expects US$52.3 to US$54.3 billion of sales.