Good afternoon. Thank you for joining Costco Wholesale Corporation’s Q2 2026 Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. I will now turn the call over to Gary Millerchip.

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon. Today we will review Costco’s financial results and February sales. As a reminder, these discussions include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act, and future results may differ materially from those contemplated. Please also see our most recent reports filed with the SEC for a discussion of risks. With that, I’ll turn it over to Ron.

Thanks, Gary. Our warehouses stayed focused on the member. Traffic held, and the mix stayed with the model — value first. We continue to invest in the things members notice every week, not the noise around any single period.

Net sales for the quarter were strong. Membership income grew, excluding the fee increase and FX. We remain disciplined on expenses while funding the things that protect the member experience over the long term.

Can you talk about the noise in January and February on the weather? How did weather dynamics impact the first two months of the year, and how did the gold price spike impact the business?

Chris, thanks for the questions. Weather created some volatility — we closed 55 warehouses in the Northeast — but it did not meaningfully change total sales results. U.S. traffic visits were a touch lighter in February. On gold, we saw the expected movement in jewelry; the core business remained the story.

Have you made any digital enhancements or other innovations to the shopping experience that would encourage members to spend more with Costco — prepaying your card, line breaking, and reinvesting in store wages?

Yeah. Thanks, Michael. We continue to work on digital enhancements in our warehouses. Pharmacy is a great example of that, and it shows up in the member experience without getting in the way of the treasure-hunt model.

I’ll add one note on capital. We continue to open warehouses with the same underwriting discipline. The fee increase funds the model; it is not an annual pricing habit. Operator, we’ll take the next question.