COST — Costco Wholesale Corporation $1,040.55

CONSUMER DEFENSIVE · Generated 2026-11-03 02:15

Price graph

52-Week Range
844.06 – 1,096.50
P/E (TTM)
50.12
EPS (TTM)
20.76
Earnings Date (est.)
Dec 10, 2026
Forward Dividend & Yield
5.88 (58.00%)
Ex-Dividend Date
Oct 30, 2026
1y Target Est
1,067.59

Price vs Rates, Inflation & Volume (long-term)

Dotted = market-implied expectation (next ~12 mo), not a prediction.

Quality Scorecard Stable

C68/100
❌ Pricing power (gross margin) 13% Gross margin 13% — thin margins
✅ Return on equity 28% ROE 28% — high returns on capital
✅ Leverage (net debt / EBITDA) net cash Net cash — $11.1B more cash than debt
✅ Interest coverage 81x EBIT covers interest 81x — comfortably covered
✅ Earnings consistency (revenue) 0/3 down 0 revenue-down year(s) in 3 — no down years
✅ Earnings growth (net income YoY) +14% Net income +14% YoY — earnings growing
✅ Cash conversion (CFO/NI) 171% Operating cash ÷ net income 171% — earnings convert to cash
🟡 Operating margin trend flat Operating margin flat
❌ Free cash flow margin 3% FCF margin 3% — thin / negative
🟡 Returns capital to shareholders yes dividend ~58.0%; shares -0.1%/yr
🟡 Buyback efficiency (net share-count Δ) -0.1%/yr Shares outstanding -0.1% YoY — roughly flat

Stable-stage checklist (proxy metrics from yfinance). 11 of 11 criteria scored. Not financial advice.

Buy-Now Score

65/100
Quality ×40%68
Trajectory ×30%75
Valuation ×30%53

Comparative rank: 40% Quality + 30% Trajectory + 30% Valuation — higher = better buy now. Not financial advice.

Valuation

$401.69$1,174.35
Price $1,040.55DCF $446.32 (-57%)Analyst $1,067.59 (+3%)MarketGist fair $943.34 (-9%)

DCF: 9% start growth → 2.5%, 8.8% discount (band $338.77–$606.55). Analyst: 37 analysts. MarketGist fair = 80% analyst + 20% DCF. Not financial advice.

Key Trends (6-yr)

GAAP EPS
▲ +10.0% YoY
Sales
▲ +10.1% YoY
Shares Outstanding
▲ +0.0% YoY

Company Overview

Basic Information

Company Name: Costco Wholesale Corporation
Symbol: COST
Exchange: NMS
Sector: Consumer Defensive
Industry: Discount Stores

Company Details

Country: United States
City: Issaquah
Employees: 355,000
Market Cap: $461.10B

Business Description

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. In addition, it engages in e-commerce, business centers, travel, and other businesses. Further, the company operates e-commerce sites; and offers branded and private-label products in various categories. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.

Key Metrics

Price & Valuation

Current Price
$1.04K
Market Cap
$461.10B
P/E Ratio
50.12
Forward P/E
41.58
PEG Ratio
5.07
Price to Book
12.88

Profitability

Profit Margin: 3.04%
Operating Margin: 3.79%
Gross Margin: 12.77%
Return on Equity (ROE): 28.40%
Return on Assets (ROA): 8.66%
Revenue Growth: 11.10%

Financial Health

Current Ratio: 1.06
Quick Ratio: 0.57
Debt to Equity: 28.44
Total Debt: $10.18B
Total Cash: $21.30B
Beta: 0.85

Trading & Analyst Info

52-Week Range

52-Week High: $1.10K
52-Week Low: $844.06
50-Day Average: $943.30
200-Day Average: $970.91

Analyst Recommendations

Recommendation: BUY
Target Mean Price: $1.07K
Target High: $1.31K
Target Low: $770.00

Quarterly Verdict

🟢 88/100

Worth buying

Quality grade C; 5 improving / 1 weakening metrics YoY.

➖ Pricing power (gross margin): Gross margin 13% — thin margins
➕ Return on equity: ROE 28% — high returns on capital
➕ Leverage (net debt / EBITDA): Net cash — $11.1B more cash than debt
➕ Interest coverage: EBIT covers interest 81x — comfortably covered
➕ Earnings consistency (revenue): 0 revenue-down year(s) in 3 — no down years
➕ Earnings growth (net income YoY): Net income +14% YoY — earnings growing
➕ Cash conversion (CFO/NI): Operating cash ÷ net income 171% — earnings convert to cash
➖ Free cash flow margin: FCF margin 3% — thin / negative
➕ Revenue +11.1% YoY
➕ Net income +14.9% YoY
➕ Operating margin +0.1 pts YoY
➕ Free cash flow +30.3% YoY
➕ Cash +42.7% YoY
➖ Debt +4.0% YoY

Heuristic from the Quality Scorecard + quarter-over-quarter trends. Not financial advice.

Financial Statements

Income Statement (Annual)

Item2026-08-312025-08-312024-08-312023-08-312022-08-31
Tax Effect Of Unusual Items$17.04M$21.11M$6.33M$7.51MN/A
Tax Rate For Calcs$0.25$0.25$0.24$0.26N/A
Normalized EBITDA$15.00B$13.31B$12.12B$10.70BN/A
Total Unusual Items$69.00M$84.00M$26.00M$29.00MN/A
Total Unusual Items Excluding Goodwill$69.00M$84.00M$26.00M$29.00MN/A
Net Income From Continuing Operation Net Minority Interest$9.23B$8.10B$7.37B$6.29BN/A
Reconciled Depreciation$2.67B$2.43B$2.24B$2.08BN/A
Reconciled Cost Of Revenue$264.28B$239.89B$222.36B$212.59BN/A
EBITDA$15.07B$13.40B$12.15B$10.72BN/A
EBIT$12.40B$10.97B$9.91B$8.65BN/A
Net Interest Income$497.00M$351.00M$429.00M$344.00MN/A
Interest Expense$145.00M$154.00M$169.00M$160.00MN/A
Interest Income$642.00M$505.00M$533.00M$470.00MN/A
Normalized Income$9.17B$8.04B$7.35B$6.27BN/A
Net Income From Continuing And Discontinued Operation$9.23B$8.10B$7.37B$6.29BN/A

Showing 15 of 43 rows

Balance Sheet (Annual)

Item2026-08-312025-08-312024-08-312023-08-312022-08-31
Ordinary Shares Number$443.27M$443.24M$443.13M$442.79MN/A
Share Issued$443.27M$443.24M$443.13M$442.79MN/A
Total Debt$8.58B$8.25B$8.17B$8.88BN/A
Tangible Book Value$35.80B$29.16B$23.62B$25.06BN/A
Invested Capital$41.97B$34.95B$29.42B$31.52BN/A
Working Capital$2.63B$1.27B$-1.22B$2.30BN/A
Net Tangible Assets$35.80B$29.16B$23.62B$25.06BN/A
Capital Lease Obligations$2.41B$2.46B$2.38B$2.43BN/A
Common Stock Equity$35.80B$29.16B$23.62B$25.06BN/A
Total Capitalization$39.72B$34.88B$29.42B$30.43BN/A
Total Equity Gross Minority Interest$35.80B$29.16B$23.62B$25.06BN/A
Minority InterestN/A$0.00$0.00$0.00$5.00M
Stockholders Equity$35.80B$29.16B$23.62B$25.06BN/A
Gains Losses Not Affecting Retained Earnings$-1.62B$-1.77B$-1.83B$-1.80BN/A
Other Equity Adjustments$-1.62B$-1.77B$-1.83B$-1.80BN/A

Showing 15 of 56 rows

Cash Flow Statement (Annual)

Item2026-08-312025-08-312024-08-312023-08-312022-08-31
Free Cash Flow$9.38B$7.84B$6.63B$6.75BN/A
Repurchase Of Capital Stock$-848.00M$-903.00M$-700.00M$-676.00MN/A
Repayment Of Debt$-737.00M$-1.11B$-2.13B$-1.30BN/A
Issuance Of Debt$1.05B$816.00M$1.43B$917.00MN/A
Capital Expenditure$-6.43B$-5.50B$-4.71B$-4.32BN/A
Interest Paid Supplemental Data$103.00M$106.00M$129.00M$125.00MN/A
Income Tax Paid Supplemental Data$2.84B$2.92B$2.32B$2.23BN/A
End Cash Position$20.21B$14.16B$9.91B$13.70BN/A
Beginning Cash Position$14.16B$9.91B$13.70B$10.20BN/A
Effect Of Exchange Rate Changes$-38.00M$6.00M$40.00M$15.00MN/A
Changes In Cash$6.08B$4.25B$-3.83B$3.48BN/A
Financing Cash Flow$-3.35B$-3.77B$-10.76B$-2.61BN/A
Cash Flow From Continuing Financing Activities$-3.35B$-3.77B$-10.76B$-2.61BN/A
Net Other Financing Charges$-361.00M$-393.00M$-315.00M$-303.00MN/A
Cash Dividends Paid$-2.46B$-2.18B$-9.04B$-1.25BN/A

Showing 15 of 51 rows

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