Costco Wholesale Corporation COST closed fiscal 2026 on a strong sales note, with fourth-quarter net sales rising 11.3% year over year to $93.9 billion from $84.4 billion. The increase highlights solid sales momentum over the 16-week quarter, while the company’s digitally enabled business remained a notable contributor to the overall pace of growth.
Comparable sales for the fourth quarter increased 9.4% companywide. The United States posted a 10.7% comparable-sales gain, while Canada and Other International rose 5% and 7%, respectively. Against that backdrop, digitally enabled comparable sales climbed a much faster 19.5%, showing that Costco’s online and digitally supported channels continued to expand at a stronger rate.
The digital trend remained similarly strong after excluding the effects of gasoline-price changes and foreign exchange. On that basis, total company comparable sales advanced 6.7% in the quarter, while digitally enabled comparable sales increased 19.8%. This wide gap underscores the strength of digital activity during the period.
The momentum was also visible in August, when digitally enabled comparable sales rose 17.9%. For the full 52-week fiscal year, the metric increased 20.9%, or 20.7% excluding gasoline and foreign-exchange impacts.
Costco’s fourth-quarter sales performance was marked by double-digit net sales growth and a digitally enabled business that continued to grow materially faster than companywide comparable sales throughout the reported period.
How Costco Compares With Target and BJ’s Wholesale
Target Corporation TGT also showed improving sales and digital momentum in second-quarter fiscal 2026. Target’s net sales rose 5.3% year over year to $ 26,539 million, while comparable sales increased 3.8%. Digital comparable sales advanced 8.7%, outpacing comparable store sales growth of 2.7%, with same-day delivery rising more than 25%. For Target, the results highlight how digital channels continued to supplement broader top-line growth during the quarter.
BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. BJ posted stronger digital growth in second-quarter fiscal 2026, alongside a sharp increase in overall sales. BJ’s Wholesale net sales climbed 15.9% year over year to $6,091 million, while comparable club sales, excluding gasoline, rose 3.1%. Digitally enabled comparable sales surged 30%, representing 64% growth on a two-year stacked basis. For BJ’s Wholesale, digital convenience remained a key driver, supported by pickup, same-day delivery and ExpressPay engagement.
What the Latest Metrics Say About Costco
Costco has seen its shares tumble 6% over the past three months compared with the industry’s decline of 3.6%.
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From a valuation standpoint, Costco's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 40.71, higher than the industry’s ratio of 29.13. However, it is trading below its 12-month median level of 47.12, indicating some moderation in valuation.
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 9.6% and 13.5%, respectively. For the next fiscal year, the consensus estimate indicates a 7.9% rise in sales and 10.2% growth in earnings.
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Costco currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).