So far, Wall Street and shoppers appear to be rewarding that stance. Analysts note Costco enjoys strong customer loyalty, robust traffic, and a reputation for high wages and low executive‑employee pay gaps—factors that have helped it outperform many retail peers through political swings and economic turbulence.
The divergence between Costco and peers like Target and Walmart underscores a broader split in corporate strategy in the Trump era. Many companies have opted for legal risk‑management and political damage control, trimming DEI efforts or burying them under softer language about “belonging.” Costco, by contrast, is betting that visible, if measured, support for diversity can coexist with—and even underpin—a booming business, turning the warehouse club into an unlikely bellwether for how far corporate America is willing to go in defying the president’s DEI directive.
Costco did not respond to a request for comment.
