Costco (COST) closed at $934.66 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.24% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.72%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.57%.
The warehouse club operator's shares have seen a decrease of 1.84% over the last month, not keeping up with the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 4.88% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.68%.
The upcoming earnings release of Costco will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on September 24, 2026. In that report, analysts expect Costco to post earnings of $6.51 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 10.9%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $94.46 billion, showing a 9.64% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $20.42 per share and revenue of $301.94 billion. These totals would mark changes of +13.51% and +9.7%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Costco. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Costco currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Costco is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 46.82. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 25.72, which means Costco is trading at a premium to the group.
One should further note that COST currently holds a PEG ratio of 4.55. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.87.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 64, which puts it in the top 27% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow COST in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).