Costco Wholesale Corp COST

What the company does

Costco Wholesale Corp is a mega-cap company in the Consumer Defensive sector (Discount Stores), with a market value of $444.6B, based in the USA.

It employs about 355,000 people and has been listed since Sep 22, 1993.

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, Sweden, Iceland, and New Zealand. It offers merchandise, including sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, liquor, and tobacco; non-food merchandise comprising consumer electronics, appliances, small electrics, health and beauty aids, hardware, lawn and garden, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal, automotive, stamps, tickets, apparel, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and fresh food, such as meat, produce, deli, and bakery products. The company is also involved in warehouse ancillary operations, which include gasoline, pharmacies, food courts, optical, hearing aids, and tire installation centers.

Cheap or expensive? relatively expensive

Its price-to-earnings (P/E) is 49.0 versus 19.0 for 4 direct peers — relatively expensive.

Revenue is growing 11% versus the same quarter last year.

On analysts' next-year forecasts the multiple drops to 39.8 — they expect higher earnings.

The average analyst price target is 1067.59, 6% above the current price (their view, not ours).

The stock sits at 64% of its one-year range (0% = the low, 100% = the high).

The risks

• No risk flags were detected from the data we have.

Strengths

• ✅ Profitable — 3 of every 100 dollars of revenue stays as profit.
• ✅ Generates free cash flow — profit becomes cash in the bank.
• ✅ More cash than debt.
• ✅ Most analysts rate it buy (26 vs 2).
• ✅ Pays a dividend (0.5% a year).

What changed this week

Over the past week the stock rose 1.4% (for comparison: S&P 500 -0.4%, sector ETF XLP +0.7%).

This week's news

• Microsoft Stock And 2 Other Best Defensive Stocks finance.yahoo.com · 2026-10-24
  What the article says

  Concerns about heavily indebted AI data center operators have pushed many investors to question where the real safety is. When some high growth stories rely on complex financing, companies with strong balance sheets and lower measured risk scores can look more appealing. This article walks through three such stocks… source ↗

• Costco Wholesale (COST) Adds AI Smartphone Gimbal To Member Only Shelves finance.yahoo.com · 2026-10-24
  What the article says

  Costco Wholesale (NasdaqGS:COST) is now selling Hohem's iSteady M7 AI tracking smartphone gimbal at a member-only price in the U.S. The launch marks Hohem's first entry into American membership retail channels through Costco's warehouse network. The partnership adds an AI-driven consumer electronics accessory to… source ↗

• All Americans Are Feeling Squeezed. The Reactions Are Just Different. finance.yahoo.com · 2026-10-23
  What the article says

  Lower-income consumers are shopping more frequently, while others might be moving online to find deals. Either way, both groups want value. Continue Reading source ↗

• Egan-Jones Recommends Ethan Allen Shareholders Vote FOR All Five DGB Nominees finance.yahoo.com · 2026-10-23
  What the article says

  NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Egan-Jones recommends that shareholders of Ethan Allen vote FOR all five dissident nominees put forward by DGB Investment on the WHITE card at the company's November 4 annual meeting, according to its commentary on the proxy contest. The piece applies a lesson from Warren… source ↗

• REJURAN® COSMETICS Expands U.S. Retail Presence Through Costco's First-Ever Beauty Table Program finance.yahoo.com · 2026-10-23
  What the article says

  The premium Korean skincare brand introduces a Costco member set featuring its c-PDRN®-powered Turnover Ampoule SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- REJURAN® COSMETICS is expanding its U.S. retail presence through Costco's new Beauty Table program, bringing its c-PDRN® skincare to more American shoppers.… source ↗

• Consumer staples on track for best month since 1998 as sector surges seekingalpha.com · 2026-10-23
  What the article says

  [Trolley filled with groceries in wholesale store Landscape] Smile/DigitalVision via Getty Images The S&P 500 consumer staples sector is on track for its strongest monthly performance since October 1998, with the sector’s latest advance standing out against a history of sharp swings between gains and losses, according… source ↗

What changed since last week

No material change: same valuation verdict, same risk flags, price moved less than 3%.