What Costco Wholesale (COST)'s 8% November Sales Gain Means For Shareholders

• In early December 2025, Costco Wholesale reported that net sales for November reached US$23.64 billion, with November and first-quarter fiscal 2026 sales both rising around 8% compared with a year earlier.
• The results reinforced Costco’s ability to grow membership-driven revenue even as factors like tariffs and cost pressures remain a key focus for investors.
• Next, we’ll examine how this resilient November sales growth shapes Costco’s investment narrative, particularly around membership strength and margin pressures.

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Costco Wholesale Investment Narrative Recap

To own Costco, you generally need to believe its membership model and price leadership can keep driving steady sales and earnings, even with thin margins and a premium valuation. The latest 8%-plus November and early fiscal 2026 sales growth supports that case, but it does not materially change the near term focus on tariff uncertainty and cost pressures as the key swing factors for the stock.

Among recent developments, Costco’s tariff refund lawsuit stands out as highly relevant to this strong sales update, because tariff outcomes could meaningfully affect margins even when revenue is growing. For investors watching Costco’s catalysts, the combination of resilient membership driven sales and potential shifts in tariff liabilities is likely to remain central to how the story evolves from here.

Yet investors should also be aware of how tariff unpredictability could affect Costco’s cost base and pricing power...

Read the full narrative on Costco Wholesale (it's free!)

Costco Wholesale’s narrative projects $329.0 billion revenue and $10.4 billion earnings by 2028. This requires 7.0% yearly revenue growth and about a $2.6 billion earnings increase from $7.8 billion today.

Uncover how Costco Wholesale's forecasts yield a $1056 fair value, a 18% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Twenty six fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community range from about US$692 to US$1,225, showing how far apart individual views can be. When you set those against Costco’s recent 8% sales growth and ongoing tariff risk, it underlines why it can help to weigh several different perspectives on the company’s prospects.

Explore 26 other fair value estimates on Costco Wholesale - why the stock might be worth as much as 37% more than the current price!

Build Your Own Costco Wholesale Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Costco Wholesale research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Costco Wholesale research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Costco Wholesale's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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