Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) AI Stock Analysis

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global network of membership warehouses across the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. The company offers branded and private-label merchandise spanning groceries, sundries, electronics, apparel, and furniture to both individual and commercial members. In addition to retail warehouse operations, Costco provides ancillary services including pharmacies, optical services, food courts, hearing aid centers, tire installation, and gas stations. It also operates e-commerce platforms that provide online business delivery, travel services, and same-day grocery delivery. As of August 2022, Costco operated 838 membership warehouses globally.

Costco expanded revenue from $226.95B in FY2022 to $303.15B in FY2026, delivering a five-year revenue CAGR of 9.1%. Annual revenue growth was 15.8% in FY2022, 6.8% in FY2023, 5.0% in FY2024, 8.2% in FY2025, and 10.1% in FY2026. Net income rose from $5.84B in FY2022 to $9.23B in FY2026, lifting diluted EPS from $13.14 to $20.61. Operating margin increased from 3.4% in FY2022 to 3.9% in FY2026, alongside a gross margin expansion from 12.1% to 12.8%. For the latest quarter ending August 31, 2026, quarterly revenue increased 11.1% year-over-year, and quarterly earnings grew 15.0% year-over-year.

As of August 31, 2026, Costco held $21.30B in cash and short-term investments against total debt of $8.58B, providing $12.72B in net cash. Shareholders' equity stood at $35.80B on total assets of $89.05B, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.06. In FY2026, the company generated $15.82B in operating cash flow and $9.39B in free cash flow. Cash deployment in FY2026 included $6.43B in capital expenditures, $2.46B in dividends paid, and $848.0M used for share buybacks.

Costco trades at a trailing P/E of 47.6x and a forward P/E of 40.3x, representing a premium to the median of its Nasdaq-100 Consumer Defensive peers of 29.2x and 18.2x, respectively. The company's EV to EBITDA multiple is 26.9x, compared to the peer median of 16.2x, while its price-to-sales multiple is 1.4x versus 2.2x for peers. Over the past 12 months, Costco gained 7.5%, trailing the S&P 500 (SPY) return of 16.8%. Over a five-year period, however, Costco returned 130.7%, outpacing the S&P 500 return of 83.0%.

Costco pays an annual forward dividend of $5.88, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.59% as of October 16, 2026. The company has paid dividends for 23 consecutive years with a payout ratio of 27.7%. Its annualized 5-year dividend growth rate was -16.9%, and its last ex-dividend date is October 30, 2026.

Wall Street analysts hold 20 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 13 Hold, 1 Sell, and 1 Strong Sell recommendations on Costco. The mean price target is $1066.06, which sits 7.8% above the last close of $989.11. For the fiscal year ending August 31, 2027, consensus estimates project EPS of $22.80 on revenue of $329.41B. Costco exceeded EPS estimates in 3 of the last 4 quarters, and its next earnings date is December 10, 2026.

This page is an AI-written research summary of Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

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