Costco Wholesale's Gulfstream lands in Iowa the week after record Q3 earnings and expansion talk

Costco Wholesale’s Gulfstream G280, tail N84CW, flew from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International to a point near Iowa City on June 10, a 67-minute hop that places a senior team in the heart of the Midwest. The flight arrived the same week Costco reported a blistering third quarter — net sales up 11.6% to $69.15 billion and record gas volumes, driven by price-sensitive consumers flooding its pumps, per the company’s earnings release and transcript [Benzinga.com](https://www.benzinga.com/insights/news/26/05/52861656/full-transcript-costco-wholesale-q3-2026-earnings-call).

CEO Ron Vachris told analysts on the May 28 call that Costco is targeting “30 plus net new openings per year” globally, with a focus on expanding its warehouse footprint and gas stations [foodnavigator-usa.com](https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2026/05/29/costco-gas-sales-hit-records-as-high-prices-drive-traffic-and-loyalty/). Iowa, which hosts Costco warehouses in Coralville and Des Moines, sits near the retailer’s Midwest growth corridor. A stop near Iowa City — home to a busy warehouse and a growing university market — fits the pattern of site visits and store evaluations that keep Costco’s famously lean corporate team on the road.

That road has been busy: the same G280 spent the previous week crisscrossing Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, stopping in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Chicago before heading west. For a company that runs 931 warehouses and a growing e-commerce operation, these Midwest hops are the quiet machinery behind the headlines — a flat, direct culture sending executives to look at real estate, check supply chains, and watch members use that new digital membership card.