The Staggering Number Of Rotisserie Chickens Costco Sold In 2025

Few items are more closely associated with Costco than its legendary rotisserie chicken. Famed for its flavor and affordability, this chicken has been among the chain's core offerings for decades, providing shoppers with a quick meal or the core of a variety of chicken recipes worth adding to your dinner rotation. Anyone who has shopped there has likely seen them flying off the shelves, but just how many does Costco sell in a year? Thanks to its annual shareholders meeting, we now know.

Costco revealed to its investors that it sold 157.4 million rotisserie chickens worldwide in fiscal year 2025, equivalent to a jaw-dropping 13.1 million per month or over 431,000 every day. With 914 warehouses around the world, this breaks down to an average of 172,210 per Costco, per year, a truly mind-boggling number of birds.

It's even more stunning when you consider the total weight of the rotisserie chickens sold. Costco birds are about three pounds each (larger than most grocery store equivalents), meaning Costco customers scooped up roughly 472 million pounds of chicken per year.

This wasn't the only eye-popping food sales data from Costco's recent shareholder presentation. Over the same period, the chain sold 245.1 million hot dog and soda combos, another fundamental element of the Costco experience. There are good reasons Costco's rotisserie chicken has such a cult following. One of the most obvious is the price. At just $4.99, it's noticeably cheaper per pound than even low-cost alternatives like Walmart. 

Costco is able to provide this loyalty-inducing value because the chicken serves as a so-called "loss leader." Even if the chain loses money on every chicken sold, customers who pop in to grab a chicken are more likely to add a few other items to their cart, too. In addition, Costco makes most of its profit from membership fees, allowing it to survive and thrive with a smaller profit margin on most items than regular grocery stores.

Selling over 157 million rotisserie chickens annually is undoubtedly an impressive achievement. And, with grocery prices as expensive as ever, there's no telling how many Costco may sell in the months and years ahead.