(NEXSTAR) – Costco’s pie businesses (both pizza and pastry) were booming in recent weeks, a Costco executive said during the company’s latest call with investors.
Gary Millerchip, Costco’s chief financial officer, took a quick moment to discuss “fun facts” about the company’s holiday sales during the meeting, revealing that Costco’s food courts recorded their best-ever whole-pizza sales on Halloween.
“Our U.S. food courts set a daily record on Halloween, selling 358,000 whole pizzas, an increase of 31% versus last year,” Millerchip said.
“Our U.S. bakeries also set a record in the three days leading up to Thanksgiving, selling 4.5 million pies,” Millerchip added. “That’s over 7,000 per warehouse over a three-day period.
Millerchip did not expand on the pizza/pie statements. But as far as pizza is concerned, it’s no surprise that Halloween was one of the busiest days for take-home pies: On the same date in 2024, Costco’s food courts collectively sold 274,000 whole pizzas — which was also a record-setting figure at the time, Costco CEO Ron Vachris said last year, according to a transcript provided by Seeking Alpha.
Anecdotal information from workers and customers shared to Reddit also seemed to confirm that Halloween is the biggest pizza night for Costco’s food courts, with one self-identified employee claiming their location sold 850.
“My location is planning on doing 900 pizzas today,” another person wrote. “We have 1 order for 90 pizzas, that’s just 1 order.”
A representative for Costco was not immediately available to respond to questions about its pizza or pie sales, or offer any specific reason for their year-over-year jump in sales. But the company also reported a 5.1% increase in cardholders when compared to the same period in 2024, which likely contributed to an 8.2% increase in overall net sales.
Earnings were also bolstered by strong digital sales: Millerchip said traffic to the website was up 24% while traffic to the app was up 48%, leading to a 20.5% increase in digital sales year-over-year.
“We continue to see many opportunities to enhance digital engagement with our members, and look forward to sharing progress on future earnings calls,” he said.