ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco bargain hunters are going to have to pay an additional $5 to $10 annually as the popular warehouse chain prepares to raise its membership fees for the first time in seven years.

The Issaquah, Washington, company disclosed the forthcoming 8% increase in the fee to gain entry into its more than 700 warehouses in the U.S. and Canada as part of a monthly sales report Wednesday.

The new fees, set to take effect Sept. 1, will boost the price of Costco’s basic Gold Star membership from $60 to $65 annually, while the cost for the premium Executive membership will rise from $120 to $130. The annual fee had remained the same since 2017, despite several years of unusually high inflation rates that finally have been cooling down in recent months.

With inflationary pressures squeezing household budgets, Costco’s commitment to offering low prices on a wide range of food and other merchandise has helped make its warehouse an even more popular shopping destination. That phenomenon, in turn, has help boost its profits, making its stock a hot commodity among investors. Costco’s shares have nearly doubled during the last 18 months, increasing the company’s market value by about $180 billion during that span.

Costco’s shares rose by more than 2% after news of the fee increase and its latest sales gains came out. If the stock behaves similarly in Thursday’s regular trading session, the shares will hit a new peak.

Besides the fee increase, Costco disclosed its sales for the five-week period ending July 7 rose by 7% from the same time last year to $24.48 billion.

Related Articles

3M Co. finance chief leaves to join ADM

House-rich, cash-strapped: Advice for older homeowners

Astronauts confident Boeing space capsule can safely return them to Earth, despite failures

Target stores to stop accepting personal checks

Corporations want you to rent, not own. Can lawmakers stop them?

3M Co. Chief Financial Officer Monish Patolawala is stepping down to take the same role at another company, further shaking up the industrial product maker’s leadership after a CEO change earlier this year.

Monish Patolawala

Patolawala will remain through the end of the month with Mapelwood-based 3M, which has initiated a succession process to identify a replacement, the company said Wednesday in a statement. The executive will join agriculture supply company Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. as CFO on Aug. 1, according to a separate statement.

The move comes shortly after aerospace veteran Bill Brown took the helm as 3M’s chief executive officer. Patolawala was in the finance role for four years and helped guide the company through the spinoff of its health care business, Solventum Corp., and multiple billion-dollar settlements over the company’s role in contaminated drinking water.

“New external hire CEOs typically like to hand-pick their own CFOs at least three-quarters of the time, so this announcement is consistent with the practice where Bill Brown can select his own finance executive,” Deane Dray, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. “This ‘brain drain’ of losing high-caliber employees in the running for top management positions is a relatively common outcome.”

Shares in 3M closed up 2% Wednesday, at $101.67. ADM shares rose 1.7% at 64.23.

For ADM, Patolawala’s appointment brings to an end a six-month period of interim leadership in the finance department. Former CFO Vikram Luthar was placed on administrative leave in January and had agreed to resign effective Sept. 30 amid an accounting investigation that sent the company’s shares plunging.

In March, ADM disclosed a $137 million impairment charge related to its animal nutrition business after an internal probe, bringing relief to investors that feared the fallout would be worse. The company is still under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice.

Related Articles

Hastings seeks PFAS funding after Legislature sinks bonding bill. But why isn’t 3M paying?

‘You saved my life,’ German 3M manager tells St. Paul firefighters who treated him last visit

3M to return nearly $1M in back wages to employees after unauthorized paycheck deductions

After six-decade run, 3M to cut dividend

With new PFAS limits, some east metro cities have big water cleanup jobs ahead

Single tickets for the 2024-2025 seasons at St. Paul’s History Theatre and Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis are now on sale.

History Theatre

History Theatre tickets are available by calling 651-292-4323 or via historytheatre.com. The season includes:

“Behind the Sun” (Sept. 21-Oct. 13): A Black man in Minneapolis finds the home of his dreams, but it’s 1956 and it lies inside a redlined district in an all-white neighborhood. $64-$25.

“I Am Betty” (Nov. 23-Dec. 29): A second run of the popular musical about the fictional character of Betty Crocker. $82-$30.

“The Root Beer Lady” (Jan. 25-Feb. 23): A one-woman show about Dorothy Molter, the last legal non-Indigenous resident of the Boundary Waters. $69-$25.

“Secret Warriors” (March 29-April 19): The tale of two Japanese Americans who served as translators and interrogators for the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. $64-$25.

“Whoa Nellie: The Outlaw King of the Wild Middle West” (May 17-June 8): Josef Evans’ musical follows a fake detective whose countless criminal exploits and penchant for male attire made her a Minnesota media sensation. $64-$25.

Children’s Theatre Company

Tickets for the Children’s Theatre Company are available by phone at 612-874-0400 and online at childrenstheatre.org. The season includes:

“Moya” (Sept. 12-Oct. 20): A circus show from South African troupe Zip Zap Circus. $68-$15.

“Drawing Lessons” (Oct. 8-Nov. 10): This world premiere follows a Korean-American manhwa graphic novelist striving to find her true artistic voice. $58-$15.

“Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (Nov. 5-Jan. 5): This year, the CTC classic is directed by Dean Holt, who was a cast member in the show the first time the company staged it 30 years ago. $88-$15.

“Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster” (Jan. 8-March 9): A musical puppet show, making its Minnesota debut here, that’s based on books by author Mo Willems. $58-$15.

“Milo Imagines the World” (Feb. 4-March 9): A CTC joint-commissioned new musical based on the book by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson. $68-$15.

“Disney’s Frozen” (April 15-June 15): An original production of the hit Broadway musical. $78-$15.

Related Articles

Dragon Festival returning to St. Paul’s Lake Phalen this Saturday

For all your camel-riding needs: Middle Eastern Festival to take place in West St. Paul on July 13-14

St. Paul’s Highland Park Water Tower opens a panoramic view of summer in July

Skywatch: Summer’s upside-down hero

The ride that inspired ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ to be recreated