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Costco holding line on $1.50 hot dog combo deal, CFO says

Inflation has driven prices up nationwide, but at least one item -- Costco’s $1.50 hot dog-and-soda deal -- will stay the same.

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During a fourth quarter earnings call Thursday, Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said the big-box warehouse giant would not raise the price on the food deal, which still sells for $1.50 at the store’s food courts nationwide.

Scot Ciccarelli, an analyst from Truist Securities, asked Galanti if Costco was adjusting prices in other parts of its business to maintain sales margins for its hot dog-and-soda deal and other value offerings like rotisserie chicken, which still retails for $4.99.

“Lightning just struck me,” Galanti joked. “No. We don’t -- we really don’t look at it that way. I think, the thing I mentioned earlier about there are some businesses that are doing well with margin like gas business on a smaller way -- in the travel business, those things help us be more aggressive in other areas, or as you mentioned, hold the price on the hot dog and the soda a little longer, forever.

“And -- but at the end of the day, no, I don’t think we necessarily look to find places where we can harvest margin. But we are -- there are different areas.”

Galanti’s comments mirrored those of Costco CEO Craig Jelinek, who told CNBC in July that the price would not rise.

Costco said the price of the combo has remained the same since it was introduced in the mid-1980s.

Other items in the food court have risen due to inflation, however. Over the summer, Costco raised the price of 20-ounce sodas to 50 cents, a dime increase, CNBC reported. A chicken bake now costs $3.99, up from $2.99, according to the television station.