Consumer Defensive

Costco Wholesale Corp(COST)

Data coverage status · 5 need attention

Quote through 2026-08-04T19:59:00Z · Delayed

Quote synced 2026-08-04T20:07:46.227167Z

Daily bars through 2026-08-03 · Stale

Daily bars synced 2026-08-04T22:41:42.749247Z

Fundamentals through 2026-05-05 · Current

Fundamentals synced 2026-08-04T20:33:01.646552Z

Forecasts: Stale

Forecasts synced 2026-05-05T23:06:48.87858Z

Ownership: Missing

Ownership synced 2026-08-04T20:33:01.646552Z

Short interest: Missing

Short interest synced 2026-08-04T20:33:01.646552Z

News through 2026-07-29T03:03:10Z · Stale

News synced 2026-07-29T11:20:50.21517Z

Company profile: Delayed

Company profile synced 2026-05-08T06:30:59.894931Z

Regular-session price

Offline

$947.78($949.34 after-hours, +0.16%)

-0.66% regular session

1Y Change

+0.46%

Window

Aug 5, 2025 → Aug 4, 2026

Market Cap: $450.94B
P/E: 52.8; Trailing
52W Range: $844.06 - $1,096.50
Volume: 322.75K; 0.1x RVOL

Investment Snapshot

Valuation, growth, profitability, catalysts, and benchmark context.

Quote + TTM fundamentalsForecast

-0.7%

-0.2%

-3.1%

YTD

+10.9%

+0.5%

Market Cap: $450.94B; NASDAQ

P/E: 52.8; Trailing valuation

Revenue Growth: +8.2%; TTM growth

EPS Growth: +9.9%; TTM earnings growth

Operating Margin: 3.8%; TTM profitability

Forward P/E: —; Waiting on consensus EPS

Next Earnings: Aug 28, 2026; In 23 days

52W Position: 41%; $844.06 - $1,096.50

Volume: 0.1x; 322.75K shares latest

Benchmark: -22.37 pts; vs SPY over 1Y

Dividend: 0.5%; Last ex-date Jul 24, 2026

Next earnings

Aug 28, 2026

In 23 days

Dividend

Jul 24, 2026

Last ex-date · 12 days ago · 0.5% yield

Coverage: 250 bars · Aug 5, 2025 → Aug 4, 2026

Research Briefing

A compact read on the setup, peer context, quarterly changes, and recent earnings reaction.

Decision context

Research Snapshot

Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) is a Consumer Defensive stock with listed on NASDAQ. The stock last traded around $947.78 and up 0.5% across the available one-year price window (Aug 5, 2025 → Aug 4, 2026). Baseline metrics include revenue growth of +8.2%, EPS growth of +9.9%, a dividend yield of 0.5%. What stands out right now is revenue +8.2%, EPS +9.9%, free cash flow +18.2% with operating margin 3.8% and ROIC 19.1%. The dividend is present but secondary, with a yield around 0.5%. Valuation already assumes a fairly strong business story at P/E 52.8 and price/sales 1.6. Stock Foundry combines COST price history, valuation, growth, dividend context, earnings, analyst forecasts, news, related Consumer Defensive peers on this page.

Sector Context

How this name stacks up against nearby peers on first-pass metrics.

Revenue Growth

Above sector median

+8.2% vs -3.8% peer median

Operating Margin

Below sector median

+3.8% vs +6.2% peer median

P/E

Above sector median

52.8 vs 14.0 peer median

What Changed This Quarter

Latest report context and the signals most likely to have changed the story.

Latest report came in below the EPS bar

Q2 2026 was reported on May 28, 2026 with an EPS surprise of -0.8%.

The operating story is still moving forward

Revenue is running at +8.2% and EPS at +9.9%, with operating margin around 3.8%.

The next real check-in already has a date

The next earnings event is scheduled for Aug 28, 2026, which is the clearest near-term catalyst for confirming whether the current trend is holding up.

Earnings Reaction Memory

How the stock has tended to move after recent reports.

Across the last 2 reported quarters, the stock averaged +0.6% over the next 5 trading days and finished higher after 1 of those reports.

View quarter-by-quarter reaction table

Quarter	EPS Delta	1D	5D	20D
Q2 2026 May 28, 2026	-0.8%	-3.9%	-2.3%	-4.3%
Q1 2026 Mar 27, 2026	+74.3%	+1.3%	+3.5%	+1.4%

Benchmark Edge

COST vs SPY, QQQ, and Sector ETFs

Normalized return, excess return, max drawdown, and calendar-year wins against the benchmarks investors actually use.

Shared 1Y chart + MAX history table

Relative Read

COST trails SPY

COST is 22.37 pts behind over the shared 1Y window.

COST had 7.44 pts deeper max drawdown than SPY.

COST beat SPY in 0 of 2 calendar years shown and trailed in 2.

COST

+0.46%

Normalized return

SPY

+22.83%

S&P 500

Excess Return

-22.37 pts

Relative to SPY

COST Max Drawdown

-16.57%

Trailing 1Y

SPY Max Drawdown

-9.13%

Trailing 1Y

COSTSPY

Calendar-Year Returns

Uses the longest available daily history for COST and SPY.

Year	COST	SPY	Excess	Leader
2026	+10.94%	+12.67%	-1.74 pts	SPY
2025	-8.26%	+9.40%	-17.67 pts	SPY

Company Overview

Costco Wholesale Corp

NASDAQ

Issaquah, WA, United States

Visit costco.com

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs, delivering high-quality goods and services at low prices to over 80 million members worldwide. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, the company manages approximately 910 warehouses across the United States (73% of revenue), Canada (13%), and international markets including Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. Its merchandise spans sundries, dry groceries, candies, appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, lawn and garden items, sporting goods, tires, toys, apparel, furniture, fresh foods like meat, produce, deli, and bakery products, plus ancillary services such as gasoline, pharmacies, optical centers, food courts, hearing aids, and tire installation. Costco Wholesale Corporation emphasizes its private-label Kirkland Signature brand and bulk purchasing model, achieving high member renewal rates of 93% in the US and Canada, and nearly 90% internationally. About 55% of fiscal 2025 revenue derives from groceries and 25% from general merchandise, solidifying its pivotal role in the discount retail sector through consistent value, quality, and operational efficiency.

Leadership: Mr. Ron M. Vachris
Employees: 341.0k