Costco Wholesale Corporation

NasdaqGS:COST Stock Report

Market Cap: US$423.5b

Costco Wholesale Past Earnings Performance

Past criteria checks 6/6

Costco Wholesale has been growing earnings at an average annual rate of 14.2%, while the Consumer Retailing industry saw earnings growing at 14.2% annually. Revenues have been growing at an average rate of 10.7% per year. Costco Wholesale's return on equity is 31%, and it has net margins of 2.9%.

Key information

14.2%

Earnings growth rate

14.1%

EPS growth rate

Consumer Retailing Industry Growth10.9%
Revenue growth rate10.7%
Return on equity31.0%
Net Margin2.9%
Next Earnings Update06 Mar 2025

Recent past performance updates

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

Revenue & Expenses Breakdown

How Costco Wholesale makes and spends money. Based on latest reported earnings, on an LTM basis.

Earnings and Revenue History

NasdaqGS:COST Revenue, expenses and earnings (USD Millions)
DateRevenueEarningsG+A ExpensesR&D Expenses
24 Nov 24258,8057,57623,2980
01 Sep 24254,4537,36722,8100
12 May 24253,6957,17322,6820
18 Feb 24248,8286,79422,3310
26 Nov 23245,6526,51722,0310
03 Sep 23242,2906,29221,5900
07 May 23235,4426,00020,5690
12 Feb 23234,3906,05120,2250
20 Nov 22231,0285,88419,9780
28 Aug 22226,9545,84419,6610
08 May 22217,5385,64618,8950
13 Feb 22210,2195,51318,6440
21 Nov 21203,0845,16518,3020
29 Aug 21195,9295,00718,4530
09 May 21186,6374,72617,9230
14 Feb 21178,6264,34417,5620
22 Nov 20172,9294,32416,9610
30 Aug 20166,7614,00216,3870
10 May 20160,8763,71016,0590
16 Feb 20158,3503,77815,6060
24 Nov 19154,6743,73615,3290
01 Sep 19152,7033,65915,0800
12 May 19149,6163,60514,6490
17 Feb 19147,2373,44914,4270
25 Nov 18144,8363,26114,2000
02 Sep 18141,5763,13413,9440
13 May 18139,4653,01013,8030
18 Feb 18135,9642,96013,5620
26 Nov 17132,7352,77413,3110
03 Sep 17129,0252,67913,0320
07 May 17123,2852,53912,5990
12 Feb 17121,1942,38412,4260
20 Nov 16119,5982,41512,2760
28 Aug 16118,7192,35012,1460
08 May 16117,9372,33811,9520
14 Feb 16117,2692,30911,7960
22 Nov 15116,5532,36111,6310
30 Aug 15116,1992,37711,5100
10 May 15115,9442,30711,3790
15 Feb 15115,6372,26411,2890
23 Nov 14114,4892,12911,1480
31 Aug 14112,6402,05810,9620
11 May 14109,6041,97810,6820
16 Feb 14107,8931,96410,5020

Quality Earnings: COST has high quality earnings.

Growing Profit Margin: COST's current net profit margins (2.9%) are higher than last year (2.7%).

Free Cash Flow vs Earnings Analysis

Past Earnings Growth Analysis

Earnings Trend: COST's earnings have grown by 14.2% per year over the past 5 years.

Accelerating Growth: COST's earnings growth over the past year (16.3%) exceeds its 5-year average (14.2% per year).

Earnings vs Industry: COST earnings growth over the past year (16.3%) exceeded the Consumer Retailing industry 10.5%.

Return on Equity

High ROE: COST's Return on Equity (31%) is considered high.

Return on Assets

Return on Capital Employed

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Company Analysis and Financial Data Status

DataLast Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis2024/12/22 01:59
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