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The question

Is Costco gay?

Yes.

Costco's currently linked supplier code expressly forbids employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

Reviewed Sep 7, 2026 · Rulebook 2.0

SupportOpposition

An assessment of the record, not a score.

Who owns it?
Costco Wholesale Corporation

Public company identified in proxy for January 2026 meeting; largest disclosed institutional stakes are minority holdings, not a controlling parent.

Show me the receipts 2 sources

For the yes.

  • Date not stated · Current record

    Costco's supplier code prohibits hiring and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. This is a supplier labor standard, not a claim that every employee medical benefit was verified.

    Costco Wholesale Corporation. Direct named-company policy or specifically identified regional corporate action.

    Current official policy verified through corporate governance site, or 2025 action within three-year review window.

For the no. Or the pause.

No qualifying opposition or retreat established in this review. See the search record and its limitations below.

The source file Dates & excerpts
  1. Proxy Statement for 2026 Annual Meeting

    Costco / SEC · Published Dec 4, 2025 · Opened Sep 7, 2026

    Costco Wholesale Corporation
  2. Supplier Code of Conduct, December 2023

    Costco · Publication date not stated · Opened Sep 7, 2026

    identity or expression
What we checked Research & limits

ownership

Read 2026 meeting proxy and minority institutional ownership.

Search: Costco 2026 proxy statement sec

Checked source 1

policies

Current governance page links December 2023 supplier standard; explicit LGBTQ clause read. General corporate ethics promise alone not decisive.

Search: site.costco.com "gender identity" "sexual orientation"

Checked source 1 Checked source 2

giving

Read general charitable-giving criteria; no specific current LGBTQ donation amount established.

Search: Costco 2026 LGBTQ code ethics policy donations controversy

Checked source 1

politics

Read current-linked corporate election/advocacy spending policy. Personal executive donations not company conduct.

Search: Costco 2026 LGBTQ HRC political contributions

Checked source 1

assessments

Read dated 2025 score 25. Limited rating does not demonstrate opposition or nullify explicit supplier protection; current score not asserted.

Search: Costco 2026 LGBTQ HRC political contributions

Checked source 1

reversals

Read shareholders' rejection of anti-DEI proposal; generic DEI defense not itself decisive LGBTQ evidence. No specific material LGBTQ retreat established.

Search: Costco LGBTQ 2025 2026 withdrawal Pride opposition policy

Checked source 1 Checked source 2

Limitations

  • Supplier standard is not verification of Costco employee transgender health coverage.
  • 2025 sustainability PDF fetch failed; current governance-linked supplier code used.
  • No exhaustive charitable-giving or policy implementation audit.

Revision 1. Initial review under methodology 2.0 Independently checked with Astra on Sep 7, 2026. Verification applies to this exact saved revision.

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