Costco Sold A Massive Number Of Rotisserie Chickens In 2025 — See For Yourself

Card-carrying Costco members love that the store is a terrific place to save money on groceries, but folks who own shares in the company are more interested in how profitable the business is. The discount warehouse recently released its annual meeting of shareholders report, and there is plenty for investors to be excited about. That said, regular customers are generally more intrigued by how many products the store sells. In terms of its ready-to-eat rotisserie chickens, the number is astounding.

In 2025, Costco offloaded roughly 157 million rotisserie chickens to hungry customers across the globe. To put that in perspective, that's 137 million more rotisserie chickens than Starbucks sells of its popular pumpkin spice lattes. Yet, as monumental as that number may be, it doesn't exactly wow shareholders concerned with how much dough the company is pulling in.

Truth be told, Costco actually loses money selling its rotisserie chickens, but the much sought-after grab-and-go meal is effective as a loss leader; motivating customers to continue patronizing the store and purchase other commodities that do make the company a profit. Still, as popular as the rotisserie chickens were last year, another loss leader put up numbers that make it look like child's play.

Costco's most renowned loss leader, its iconic hot dog and soda combo, is far more beloved by customers than the store's rotisserie chickens. Costco actually sells more hot dogs than all the MLB stadiums combined, and last year's sales reflect that widespread popularity. Per the annual meeting of shareholders report, in 2025, roughly 245 million hot dog and soda combos were sold worldwide; dwarfing the extraordinary 157 million rotisserie chickens sold during the same period.

Costco had more good news to give shareholders in its recent report. Overall global sales grew by roughly $20 billion, increasing annual net income from about $7.3 billion in 2024 to over $8 billion in 2025. Costco is also rapidly expanding its footprint in the retail sector, opening 24 new locations last year.

The company stressed that complacency is not an option, and detailed future plans to remediate possible problems. Tariffs are one area where Costco is attempting to be proactive. It has been actively working to source more merchandise domestically and is mindful of the details involved with sourcing international products. Costco also plans to focus on producing more Kirkland Signature goods, which is great for consumers as they tend to be some of the most affordable items in the store.