Costco Wholesale (COST) will pay a $5.00 special dividend in the first quarter of 2015. The special cash dividend is payable on February 27, 2015, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 9, 2015.

The aggregate payment will be approximately $2.2 billion. The special dividend will be funded through existing cash and additional borrowings. It will be in addition to the Company's regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.355 per share that was declared on January 29, 2015.

Richard Galanti, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented: "Today's announcement of a $5.00 special dividend is our latest step in returning capital to our shareholders while maintaining our conservative capital structure. Our strong balance sheet and favorable access to the credit markets allow us to provide shareholders with this dividend, while also preserving financial and operational flexibility to grow our business globally; and allowing for ongoing dividend and share repurchase activities."

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouses, offering its members low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and private-label products. The company has operations in the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, and Iceland and France. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, and Taiwan. Costco Wholesale Corporation began operations in 1983 in Seattle, Washington. In October 1993, Costco merged with The Price Company, which had pioneered the membership warehouse concept in 1976, to form Price/Costco, inc., a Delaware corporation. In 1997 the company changed its name to Costco Companies, Inc. and in 1999, the company changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation.