Costco Wholesale Corp (COST)
Consumer Staples · Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail · US stock · S&P 500 component
$989.11
▲ +11.10 (1.13%)
Fair valueOvervalued
$675 −31.7% to fair value
$338fair band $473–$878$1,013
Day's range
$980.67 – $993.19
52-week range
$840.35 – $1,094.76
About Costco Wholesale Corp
Costco operates membership-based warehouse clubs in the United States and several other countries. Members pay an annual fee to shop for groceries, household goods, electronics and other merchandise, sold in bulk at relatively low markups, including products under the Kirkland Signature label. Membership fees make up a notable portion of operating profit, while merchandise sales produce most of the revenue and keep customers returning.
Costco Wholesale Corp generated $303.2 billion of revenue in the last twelve months, with sales that grew 7.8% a year over the past three years. Net debt to EBITDA is -0.9 times, which means cash exceeds debt. The operating margin is 3.9% and the return on invested capital is 40%. A dividend is paid, with a yield of 0.6%. Its X-Ray Score is 56 out of 100.
Written with AI from public information and the filing figures on this page, then checked automatically for unsupported numbers. It can contain mistakes: read the company's own filings below before relying on it.
Price chart
52-wk range $840.35 – $1,094.76Volume 2,515,007Daily, split-adjusted
Vitals
Market cap$439.6B
52-week range$840.35 – $1,094.76
Volume (last day)2,515,007
P/E (TTM)47.6
EBIT / EV yield2.7%
Free-cash-flow yield2.1%
Dividend yield0.6%
Revenue (TTM)$303.2B
Net income (TTM)$9.2B
Operating margin3.9%
Return on capital39.7%
Debt incl. leases$8.8B
Cash & securities$21.3B
Debt = borrowings plus lease liabilities. Cash & securities = cash, equivalents and short-term marketable securities (long-term securities are not counted, so net cash can be understated for companies like Apple). Net debt = debt minus cash & securities. Source: latest SEC 10-Q/10-K. EBIT / EV yield = operating profit divided by market cap plus net debt.
Fair value estimate
$675model spread $637 – $720
Overvalued
−31.7% to fair value
Equal blend of three models: peer multiples, a fundamentals-adjusted multiple (growth, ROIC and margin) and a 10-year DCF scaled to the market's average. Earnings-power value (no growth) is a floor and not part of the blend. Model uncertainty is Medium, so the safety margin is 30%.
Price $989
Undervalued < $473Fair $473 – $878Overvalued > $878
10-year DCF (market-scaled)
$801
Peer multiples
$499
Earnings power floor (not blended)
$261
Fundamentals-adjusted multiple
$725
Growth the price implies
22.1%/yr
A model estimate, not a price target or recommendation. Inputs: risk-free 5.09%, equity risk premium 4.23% (Damodaran). How it works.
What this means
Healthy business, but priced high
Our models put fair value below today's price, so a lot of good news may already be in the price. A high score does not guarantee a good outcome; it shifts the odds a little. Use the checklist as a prompt for your own research.
Before you invest · decision checklist
Ticked boxes are filled in from our data; the rest are yours to answer.
The five-lens scan
Every score explained in one sentence, ranked against Consumer Staples peers. Open a lens to see the numbers behind it.
Valuation
Weak
13/100
Expensive against its sector on earnings and cash flow.
See the numbers →
EBIT / EV yield2.7%
Free-cash-flow yield2.1%
Fair value vs price0.7×
Growth
Strong
81/100
Growing faster than most of its sector.
See the numbers →
Revenue growth (3y)7.8%
EPS growth (3y)13.6%
Growth consistency100%
Profitability
Strong
74/100
Earns high returns on the capital it uses.
See the numbers →
Return on invested capital39.7%
Operating margin3.9%
Gross profitability43.7%
Financial health
Fair
69/100
Balance sheet is in typical shape for its sector.
See the numbers →
Piotroski F-Score6 / 9
Net debt / EBITDA-0.9×
Interest coverNo interest cost
Dividends
Fair
51/100
Dividend is typical for its sector.
See the numbers →
Dividend yield0.6%
Dividends vs free cash flow26%
Dividend growth25.2%
Quarterly results: last 6 quarters
+8.0%
May '25
+8.1%
Aug '25
+8.3%
Nov '25
+9.2%
Feb '26
+11.6%
May '26
+11.1%
Aug '26
Revenue against the same quarter a year earlier. Latest quarter revenue $95.7B.
Compare with peers
DLTR Dollar Tree, Inc.77 DG Dollar General Corp66 TGT Target Corp58 WMT Walmart Inc.52Other Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail companies by X-Ray Score.
Fundamentals checklist
● 7 Good · ● 5 Average · ● 4 BadCash quality
Earnings backed by cashGood
Free-cash-flow yieldBad
Risk models
Altman Z''Average
Piotroski F-ScoreAverage
Growth
EPS growth (3y)Good
Free-cash-flow growth (3y)Average
Revenue growth (3y)Good
Growth consistencyGood
Balance sheet
Current ratioAverage
Net debt / EBITDAGood
Interest coverGood
Valuation
Fair value vs priceBad
EBIT / EV yieldBad
Profitability
Return on invested capitalGood
Operating marginBad
Gross profitabilityAverage
Each check is graded against the company's sector, not a fixed number. Checklist score 58/100.
Financials
| FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $227.0B | $242.3B | $254.5B | $275.2B | $303.2B |
| Operating income | $7.8B | $8.1B | $9.3B | $10.4B | $11.7B |
| Net income | $5.8B | $6.3B | $7.4B | $8.1B | $9.2B |
| Operating cash flow | $7.4B | $11.1B | $11.3B | $13.3B | $15.8B |
| Operating margin | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| Free cash flow | $3.5B | $6.7B | $6.6B | $7.8B | $9.4B |
| Diluted EPS | $13.14 | $14.16 | $16.56 | $18.21 | $20.76 |
Fiscal years, from SEC filings.
Technical summary
Daily
Bullish
12 bullish · 0 neutral · 4 bearish
Weekly
Strongly bullish
10 bullish · 1 neutral · 1 bearish
Monthly
Strongly bullish
7 bullish · 1 neutral · 0 bearish
Moving averages (daily)
| SMA 10 | 955.9 | Bullish |
| EMA 10 | 959.6 | Bullish |
| SMA 20 | 933.7 | Bullish |
| EMA 20 | 944.5 | Bullish |
| SMA 50 | 933.8 | Bullish |
| EMA 50 | 937.7 | Bullish |
| SMA 100 | 942.6 | Bullish |
| EMA 100 | 944.6 | Bullish |
| SMA 200 | 964.3 | Bullish |
| EMA 200 | 950.2 | Bullish |
Oscillators (daily)
| RSI (14) | 72.48 | Bearish |
| MACD (12, 26) | 14.85 | Bullish |
| Momentum (12) | 8.65 | Bullish |
| Stochastic %K (14) | 81.59 | Bearish |
| Williams %R (14) | -18.41 | Bearish |
| CCI (20) | 152.5 | Bearish |
Pivot points (classic, last session)
S3 969.6 | S2 975.1 | S1 982.1 | Pivot 987.7 | R1 994.6 | R2 1,000.2 | R3 1,007.2 |
Signals describe what the chart is doing, not what to do. Moving averages: price above the average is bullish. Oscillators use the usual thresholds (RSI 30/70, Stochastic 20/80, CCI ±100, Williams %R −80/−20; MACD and momentum above zero are bullish). Weekly and monthly views use closing prices only.
Dividends
Paid, last 12 months
5.54 USD
Yield on today's price
0.56%
Frequency
Quarterly
Next ex-dividend date
30 Oct 2026
| Ex-dividend date | Amount per share |
|---|---|
| 30 Oct 2026 (upcoming) | 1.4700 |
| 24 Jul 2026 | 1.4700 |
| 1 May 2026 | 1.4700 |
| 30 Jan 2026 | 1.3000 |
| 31 Oct 2025 | 1.3000 |
| 1 Aug 2025 | 1.3000 |
| 2 May 2025 | 1.3000 |
| 7 Feb 2025 | 1.1600 |
| 1 Nov 2024 | 1.1600 |
| 26 Jul 2024 | 1.1600 |
| 25 Apr 2024 | 1.1600 |
| 1 Feb 2024 | 1.0200 |
Ex-dividend dates and amounts from EODHD. Shown as declared, before tax.
COST SEC filings
16 Oct 2026
8-KSEC EDGAR
Director or officer change
14 Oct 2026
8-KSEC EDGAR
Other events
7 Oct 2026
10-KSEC EDGAR
Annual report
24 Sep 2026
8-KSEC EDGAR
Results of operations
8 Jul 2026
8-KSEC EDGAR
Other events
3 Jun 2026
10-QSEC EDGAR
Quarterly report
28 May 2026
8-KSEC EDGAR
Results of operations
15 Apr 2026
8-KSEC EDGAR
Other events
Where the numbers come from
Statements SEC EDGAR filings (10-K, 10-Q), quarters derived from year-to-date figures.
Prices end-of-day closes, split-adjusted.
Industry inputs beta, multiples and equity risk premium from Damodaran Online (NYU Stern).
StocksXray is for education only and is not financial advice. Scores and fair values are model estimates from public filings and carry uncertainty.