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Costco Wholesale NasdaqGS:COST Stock Report

Last Price

US$954.07

Market Cap

US$423.8b

7D

-3.6%

1Y

42.1%

Updated

20 Dec, 2024

Data

Company Financials +

Costco Wholesale Corporation

NasdaqGS:COST Stock Report

Market Cap: US$423.8b

COST Stock Overview

Engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. More details

COST fundamental analysis
Snowflake Score
Valuation1/6
Future Growth2/6
Past Performance6/6
Financial Health5/6
Dividends0/6

Rewards

Trading at 4.7% below our estimate of its fair value

Earnings are forecast to grow 8.32% per year

Earnings grew by 16.3% over the past year

Risk Analysis

Significant insider selling over the past 3 months


My Notes

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Community Narratives

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Narratives bring a range of perspectives from our community.

WA
Analyst Price Target
Consensus Narrative from 31 Analysts

Global Expansion, E-Commerce Boom, And Executive Memberships To Fuel Sales And Profit Growth

Key Takeaways International warehouse expansion and growing e-commerce sales are expected to drive revenue growth and improve net margins. Increasing memberships and innovation in private label products are likely to enhance gross margins and support income growth.
View narrative
US$1.01k
FV
5.9% undervalued intrinsic discount
6.77%
Revenue growth p.a.
1users have liked this narrative
0users have commented on this narrative
28users have followed this narrative
2 days ago author updated this narrative
GO
Goran_Damchevski
Equity Analyst

Success In Ecommerce, Emerging Markets And A Membership Price Increase Are Needed To Justify Current Multiple

Key Takeaways Costco may be overvalued, but its stable profitability indicates that it can catch-up in five years Growing the number of warehouses still makes sense, despite the lower returns Its own Kirkland brand, and eComm will contribute to margin expansion The special dividend is a working capital optimization tactic that also incentivizes investors to hold Membership fee increases may degrade loyalty, and act as a negative catalyst for the stock Catalysts Kirkland Signature's Growing Presence on Shelves Could Increase Margins Costco is a customer-centric company, with a $300B market cap and $246B in annual revenue. Its substantial purchasing power allows it to negotiate favorable deals with suppliers, enabling it to pass on savings to its members.
View narrative
US$489.26
FV
95.0% overvalued intrinsic discount
4.20%
Revenue growth p.a.
9users have liked this narrative
0users have commented on this narrative
5users have followed this narrative
2 months ago author updated this narrative

Costco Wholesale Corporation Competitors

Walmart

NYSE:WMT

US$750.3b

Target

NYSE:TGT

US$59.8b

Dollar General

NYSE:DG

US$16.3b

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings

NYSE:BJ

US$12.4b

Price History & Performance

Summary of share price highs, lows and changes for Costco Wholesale
Historical stock prices
Current Share PriceUS$954.07
52 Week HighUS$1,008.25
52 Week LowUS$640.51
Beta0.81
1 Month Change2.80%
3 Month Change5.19%
1 Year Change42.06%
3 Year Change73.35%
5 Year Change224.39%
Change since IPO9,942.84%

Recent News & Updates

As Costco's Q1 Earnings Approach, Let's Understand The Mindset Of Its Shareholders

Dec 09

Costco Is A Great Place To Shop, But Not To Invest

Nov 11

Estimating The Fair Value Of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Nov 04
Estimating The Fair Value Of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco: Still Cheap With Room For Warehouse Growth

Oct 29

Recent updates

As Costco's Q1 Earnings Approach, Let's Understand The Mindset Of Its Shareholders

Dec 09

Costco Is A Great Place To Shop, But Not To Invest

Nov 11

Estimating The Fair Value Of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Nov 04
Estimating The Fair Value Of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco: Still Cheap With Room For Warehouse Growth

Oct 29

Do Costco Wholesale's (NASDAQ:COST) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?

Oct 23
Do Costco Wholesale's (NASDAQ:COST) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?

Costco Is Running Out Of Gold, Here's What That Means For The Wholesaler

Oct 18

Costco's Buying Opportunity Has Long Left The Station

Oct 12

Costco Is A Phenomenal Company, But It's An Overpriced Investment

Oct 01

Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) After Its Annual Results

Sep 28
Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) After Its Annual Results

Costco: Value For Customers But Not For Investors

Sep 23

Costco: Price May Have Gotten Ahead Of Itself (Rating Downgrade)

Sep 07

Unpleasant Surprises Could Be In Store For Costco Wholesale Corporation's (NASDAQ:COST) Shares

Sep 05
Unpleasant Surprises Could Be In Store For Costco Wholesale Corporation's (NASDAQ:COST) Shares

Consumer Behavior Driving Costco's Results: Worth Half Its Current Value

Aug 25

Costco: Fundamentals Align With Technicals - And It's Not Bullish (Technical Analysis)

Aug 12

How Costco's Membership Fee Hike Makes A New Special (And Higher) Dividend Likely

Jul 29

Is Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) A Risky Investment?

Jul 29
Is Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) A Risky Investment?

Costco Reminds Me Of Coca-Cola's Major Top In 1998

Jul 21

Calculating The Fair Value Of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Jul 17
Calculating The Fair Value Of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Returns on Capital Paint A Bright Future For Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Jul 05
Returns on Capital Paint A Bright Future For Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Is Still Dead Money

Jul 01

Why Costco Excels In A Tough Environment

Jun 20

Here's Why We Think Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Is Well Worth Watching

Jun 10
Here's Why We Think Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Is Well Worth Watching

Costco: Beware Of Shorting This Momentum Stock

Jun 07

Costco Q3: Strong E-Commerce Growth Driven By Discretionary Purchases

May 31

Costco: The Multiple Expansion Train Marches On (Rating Downgrade)

May 19

Costco Wholesale Corporation's (NASDAQ:COST) Shareholders Might Be Looking For Exit

May 14
Costco Wholesale Corporation's (NASDAQ:COST) Shareholders Might Be Looking For Exit

Costco: Looking Overvalued, Maybe Time To Checkout?

Apr 26

Costco Is The Constant Grower Your Portfolio Needs

Apr 15

Costco Wholesale Corporation's (NASDAQ:COST) Intrinsic Value Is Potentially 40% Above Its Share Price

Apr 08
Costco Wholesale Corporation's (NASDAQ:COST) Intrinsic Value Is Potentially 40% Above Its Share Price

Costco: The Stock Is A Buy After Recent Correction

Apr 05

Costco: Should The Magnificent 7 Be Expanded?

Mar 28

We Think Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Can Manage Its Debt With Ease

Mar 27
We Think Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Can Manage Its Debt With Ease

Costco: Wonderful Business, Awful Price (Rating Downgrade)

Mar 14

Costco Wholesale Corporation Just Recorded A 8.5% EPS Beat: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting Next

Mar 09
Costco Wholesale Corporation Just Recorded A 8.5% EPS Beat: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting Next

Costco Q2 Earnings: Membership Fee Unchanged As Sales Strength Continues

Mar 08

Costco: Why The Stock Still Has Room To Run

Feb 29

Many Would Be Envious Of Costco Wholesale's (NASDAQ:COST) Excellent Returns On Capital

Feb 26
Many Would Be Envious Of Costco Wholesale's (NASDAQ:COST) Excellent Returns On Capital

If EPS Growth Is Important To You, Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Presents An Opportunity

Feb 14
If EPS Growth Is Important To You, Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Presents An Opportunity

Costco: The Retailer May Have Gotten Ahead Of Itself

Feb 09

Costco Wholesale Corporation's (NASDAQ:COST) Share Price Not Quite Adding Up

Feb 02
Costco Wholesale Corporation's (NASDAQ:COST) Share Price Not Quite Adding Up

Contrarian View: Why Now Might Not Be The Time For Costco Stock

Jan 26

Shareholder Returns

COSTUS Consumer RetailingUS Market
7D-3.6%-2.7%-2.4%
1Y42.1%44.4%23.3%

Return vs Industry: COST underperformed the US Consumer Retailing industry which returned 44.4% over the past year.

Return vs Market: COST exceeded the US Market which returned 23.3% over the past year.

Price Volatility

Is COST's price volatile compared to industry and market?
COST volatility
COST Average Weekly Movement2.4%
Consumer Retailing Industry Average Movement5.6%
Market Average Movement6.3%
10% most volatile stocks in US Market16.8%
10% least volatile stocks in US Market3.1%

Stable Share Price: COST has not had significant price volatility in the past 3 months compared to the US market.

Volatility Over Time: COST's weekly volatility (2%) has been stable over the past year.

About the Company

FoundedEmployeesCEOWebsite
1976333,000Ron Vachriswww.costco.com

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories. It offers merchandise, such as sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, deli, liquor, and tobacco; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, lawn and garden, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal products, office supplies, automotive care products, postages, tickets, apparel, small appliances, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products.

Costco Wholesale Corporation Fundamentals Summary

How do Costco Wholesale's earnings and revenue compare to its market cap?
COST fundamental statistics
Market capUS$423.83b
Earnings (TTM)US$7.58b
Revenue (TTM)US$258.81b

55.9x

P/E Ratio

1.6x

P/S Ratio

Is COST overvalued?

See Fair Value and valuation analysis

Earnings & Revenue

Key profitability statistics from the latest earnings report (TTM)
COST income statement (TTM)
RevenueUS$258.81b
Cost of RevenueUS$226.01b
Gross ProfitUS$32.80b
Other ExpensesUS$25.22b
EarningsUS$7.58b

Last Reported Earnings

Nov 24, 2024

Next Earnings Date

Mar 06, 2025

Earnings per share (EPS)17.07
Gross Margin12.67%
Net Profit Margin2.93%
Debt/Equity Ratio23.9%

How did COST perform over the long term?

See historical performance and comparison

Dividends

0.5%

Current Dividend Yield

26%

Payout Ratio

Company Analysis and Financial Data Status

DataLast Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis2024/12/20 22:50
End of Day Share Price 2024/12/20 00:00
Earnings2024/11/24
Annual Earnings2024/09/01

Data Sources

The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.

PackageDataTimeframeExample US Source *
Company Financials10 years
  • Income statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
Analyst Consensus Estimates+3 years
  • Forecast financials
  • Analyst price targets
Market Prices30 years
  • Stock prices
  • Dividends, Splits and Actions
Ownership10 years
  • Top shareholders
  • Insider trading
Management10 years
  • Leadership team
  • Board of directors
Key Developments10 years
  • Company announcements

* example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.

Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.

Analysis Model and Snowflake

Details of the analysis model used to generate this report is available on our Github page, we also have guides on how to use our reports and tutorials on Youtube.

Learn about the world class team who designed and built the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Industry and Sector Metrics

Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on .

Analyst Sources

Costco Wholesale Corporation is covered by 70 analysts. 33 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.

AnalystInstitution
Christopher GrajaArgus Research Company
Peter BenedictBaird
Ishan MajumdarBaptista Research