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Costco Wholesale (COST)

Market Price (9/18/2025): $963.25 | Market Cap: $427.6 Bil
Sector: Consumer Staples | Industry: Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail

Costco Wholesale (COST)

Market Price (9/18/2025): $963.25
Market Cap: $427.6 Bil
Sector: Consumer Staples
Industry: Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail

Investment Highlights

0 Attractive cash flow generation
CFO LTM is 12 Bil, FCF LTM is 7.3 Bil		  Expensive valuation multiples
P/EBITPrice/EBIT or Price/(Operating Income) ratio is 40x, P/CFOPrice/(Cash Flow from Operations). CFO is cash before capital expenditures. is 34x, P/EPrice/Earnings or Price/(Net Income) is 55x
1 Low stock price volatility
Vol 12M is 21%		  Yield minus risk free rate is negative
ERPEquity Risk Premium (ERP) = Total Yield - Risk Free Rate, Reflects the premium above risk free assets offered by the investment. is -2.4%
0 Attractive cash flow generation
CFO LTM is 12 Bil, FCF LTM is 7.3 Bil
1 Low stock price volatility
Vol 12M is 21%
2 Expensive valuation multiples
P/EBITPrice/EBIT or Price/(Operating Income) ratio is 40x, P/CFOPrice/(Cash Flow from Operations). CFO is cash before capital expenditures. is 34x, P/EPrice/Earnings or Price/(Net Income) is 55x
3 Yield minus risk free rate is negative
ERPEquity Risk Premium (ERP) = Total Yield - Risk Free Rate, Reflects the premium above risk free assets offered by the investment. is -2.4%

Market Valuation

 9/18/252024202320222021
Share Price CYE$963.25$912.80$653.76$438.76$542.01
Market Cap CYE ($ Bil)427.6405.3290.2194.7240.3
Total Debt ($ Bil)8.28.38.99.010.1
Total Cash ($ Bil)14.911.115.211.012.2
Enterprise Value ($ Bil)421.0413.6299.1203.7250.4
Valuation Ratios     
P/S TTM1.61.61.20.91.3
P/EBIT TTM40.441.033.925.336.7
P/E TTM54.555.246.634.750.2
Sector Ratios     
P/S TTM (Sector)0.90.90.90.91.6
P/EBIT TTM (Sector)8.48.910.09.411.6
P/E TTM (Sector)12.612.114.011.616.2
 9/18/2520242023
Share Price CYE$963.25$912.80$653.76
Market Cap CYE ($ Bil)427.6405.3290.2
Total Debt ($ Bil)8.28.38.9
Total Cash ($ Bil)14.911.115.2
Enterprise Value ($ Bil)421.0413.6299.1
Valuation Ratios   
P/S TTM1.61.61.2
P/EBIT TTM40.441.033.9
P/E TTM54.555.246.6
Sector Ratios   
P/S TTM (Sector)0.90.90.9
P/EBIT TTM (Sector)8.48.910.0
P/E TTM (Sector)12.612.114.0

Market Cap Chart

Business Description

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories. The company offers sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, liquor, and tobacco and deli products; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, garden and patio products, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal products, office supplies, automotive care products, postages, tickets, apparel, small appliances, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products. Show more

Price Returns Compared

Expand for Detailed View

 202020212022202320242025Total [1]
Returns
COST Return33%52%-19%49%40%6%260%
Peers Return48%26%-16%10%21%9%127%
S&P 500 Return16%27%-19%24%23%12%104%

[1] Cumulative total returns since the beginning of 2020
[2] Peers: AMZN, WMT, TGT, DG, BJ. See COST Returns vs. Peers.
[3] 2025 data is for the year up to 9/17/2025 (YTD)

Interactive Breakdown

Costco Wholesale Interactive Breakdown Analysis

Better Bets than Costco Wholesale (COST)

 COSTBetter Performance than COST
MetricValueIndustry (Consumer Staples Merchandise R)
Rev Chg LTM5.9%DLTR (13.6%), PSMT (7.5%), NGVC (8.5%), MSS (114.0%)
Rev Chg 3Y Avg7.3%PSMT (9.3%)
Op Mgn LTM3.8%WMT (4.2%), TGT (5.1%), DG (4.3%), DLTR (12.3%), BJ (4.1%)
CFO/Rev LTM4.6%WMT (5.5%), TGT (6.0%), DG (7.6%), DLTR (24.8%), NGVC (4.9%)
FCF/Rev LTM2.7%TGT (2.8%), DG (4.4%), DLTR (14.3%), MSS (3.7%)
Total Yield2.1%WMT (3.4%), TGT (14.8%), DG (6.2%), BJ (4.4%), PSMT (4.6%)
 COSTBetter Performance than COST
MetricValueAll Other Sectors
Rev Chg LTM5.9%NVDA (71.6%), MSFT (14.9%), AAPL (6.0%), GOOGL (13.1%), AMZN (10.9%)
Rev Chg 3Y Avg7.3%NVDA (92.0%), MSFT (12.5%), GOOGL (10.2%), AMZN (11.3%), META (13.0%)
Op Mgn LTM3.8%NVDA (58.1%), MSFT (45.6%), AAPL (31.9%), GOOGL (32.7%), AMZN (11.4%)
CFO/Rev LTM4.6%NVDA (46.6%), MSFT (48.3%), AAPL (26.6%), GOOGL (36.0%), AMZN (18.1%)
FCF/Rev LTM2.7%NVDA (43.6%), MSFT (25.4%), AAPL (23.5%), GOOGL (18.0%), META (30.7%)
Total Yield2.1%NVDA (2.1%), MSFT (3.3%), AAPL (3.2%), GOOGL (4.1%), AMZN (2.9%)

Latest Trefis Analyses

TitleTopicDate
0DASHBOARDS  
1Costco Wholesale Earnings Notes  
2How Does COST Stack Up Against Its Peers?Peer Comparison 
3Better Bet Than COST Stock: Pay Less Than Costco Wholesale To Get More From MSFT, GOOGL   
4Better Bet Than COST Stock: Pay Less Than Costco Wholesale To Get More From CASY, USFD   
5Now Is Not The Time To Buy Costco Wholesale StockBuy or Fear 
6[7/15/2025] Better Bet Than COST Stock: Pay Less Than Costco Wholesale To Get More From Sector Peers SFM, CASY, MDLZ, BRBR, USFD Better Bets 
7COST Dip Buy Analysis  
8COST YTD Stock Return Of 11% Outperforms TGT by 40% and Underperforms DG by -42%Return 
9Better Bet Than COST Stock: Pay Less Than Costco Wholesale To Get More From Sector Peers BRBR, POST, CALM Better Bets 
10Costco Wholesale Total Shareholder Return (TSR): 68.8% in 2024 and 27.8% 3-yr compounded annual returns (above peer average)  
11ARTICLES  
12Now is not the time to buy Costco Wholesale stock August 9th, 2025
13Costco’s Stock Is Soaring, But Is It Too Expensive? June 23rd, 2025
14Costco Stock to $650? March 10th, 2025
15Costco Stock Has Grown 2x S&P 500 This Year. What’s Next? December 13th, 2024
16Costco Stock Has Grown 2x S&P 500 So Far This Year: More Gains After Q4 Results? September 4th, 2024
Title
0DASHBOARDS
1Now is not the time to buy Costco Wholesale stock
2Costco’s Stock Is Soaring, But Is It Too Expensive?
3Costco Stock to $650?
4Costco Stock Has Grown 2x S&P 500 This Year. What’s Next?
5Costco Stock Has Grown 2x S&P 500 So Far This Year: More Gains After Q4 Results?
6ARTICLES
7Costco Wholesale Earnings Notes
8How Does COST Stack Up Against Its Peers?
9Better Bet Than COST Stock: Pay Less Than Costco Wholesale To Get More From MSFT, GOOGL 
10Better Bet Than COST Stock: Pay Less Than Costco Wholesale To Get More From CASY, USFD 
11Now Is Not The Time To Buy Costco Wholesale Stock
12[7/15/2025] Better Bet Than COST Stock: Pay Less Than Costco Wholesale To Get More From Sector Peers SFM, CASY, MDLZ, BRBR, USFD 
13COST Dip Buy Analysis
14COST YTD Stock Return Of 11% Outperforms TGT by 40% and Underperforms DG by -42%
15Better Bet Than COST Stock: Pay Less Than Costco Wholesale To Get More From Sector Peers BRBR, POST, CALM 
16Costco Wholesale Total Shareholder Return (TSR): 68.8% in 2024 and 27.8% 3-yr compounded annual returns (above peer average)

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1 Week Top Gainers

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Recent Active Movers

1 Week Top Gainers

#TickerCompany1W RtnYTD Rtn
1ECDAECD Automotive Design3347.2%307.9%
2BDSXBiodesix1090.6%-79.7%
3CLSDClearside Biomedical987.7%-74.7%
4ATHAAthira Pharma892.1%544.3%
5SDOTSadot690.6%-79.9%
6ATCHAtlasClear684.9%-83.1%
7HSDTHelius Medical Technologies232.1%-95.5%
8CHEKCheck-Cap222.2%134.4%
9APLMApollomics197.8%89.1%
10SPRCSciSparc147.0%1141.7%

1 Week Top Losers

#TickerCompany1W RtnYTD Rtn
1CURXCuranex Pharmaceuticals-80.5%148.4%
2ATYRaTyr Pharma-80.4%-71.7%
3NAKAKindly MD-70.2% 
4BNGOBionano Genomics-64.0%-89.8%
5XAGELongevity Health-57.6%-86.1%
6FAASDigiAsia-55.4%-88.0%
7ASSTStrive-54.5%650.3%
8VCIGVCI Global-51.0%-98.9%
9REXREX American Resources-50.7%44.3%
10RBNERobin Energy-42.6% 

More From Trefis

Research & Analysis

Invest in Strategies

Wealth Management

Peer Comparisons for Costco Wholesale

Financials

COSTAMZNWMTTGTDGBJMedian
NameCostco W.Amazon.c.Walmart Target Dollar G.BJ's Who. 
Mkt Price963.03231.62104.2788.93106.1499.26105.20
Mkt Cap427.52,463.7831.940.423.413.1234.0
Rev LTM268,776670,038693,153105,64041,65220,912187,208
Op Inc LTM10,08476,19028,9885,4241,7908617,754
FCF LTM7,31713,48113,7532,9441,8502825,130
FCF 3Y Avg6,85221,67714,9863,2821,2112855,067
CFO LTM12,426121,13738,4386,3863,1589379,406
CFO 3Y Avg11,46096,97736,7077,4702,7468089,465

Growth & Margins

COSTAMZNWMTTGTDGBJMedian
NameCostco W.Amazon.c.Walmart Target Dollar G.BJ's Who. 
Rev Chg LTM5.9%10.9%4.2%-1.5%5.0%2.5%4.6%
Rev Chg 3Y Avg7.3%11.3%5.7%-0.7%5.7%4.7%5.7%
Rev Chg Q8.0%13.3%4.8%-0.9%5.1%3.4%4.9%
QoQ Delta Rev Chg LTM1.8%3.0%1.2%-0.2%1.3%0.8%1.2%
Op Mgn LTM3.8%11.4%4.2%5.1%4.3%4.1%4.2%
Op Mgn 3Y Avg3.5%7.9%4.0%5.1%5.9%4.0%4.5%
QoQ Delta Op Mgn LTM0.1%0.3%-0.1%-0.3%0.1%0.0%0.0%
CFO/Rev LTM4.6%18.1%5.5%6.0%7.6%4.5%5.8%
CFO/Rev 3Y Avg4.5%15.8%5.5%7.0%6.8%4.0%6.2%
FCF/Rev LTM2.7%2.0%2.0%2.8%4.4%1.3%2.4%
FCF/Rev 3Y Avg2.7%3.5%2.3%3.1%3.0%1.4%2.8%

Valuation

COSTAMZNWMTTGTDGBJMedian
NameCostco W.Amazon.c.Walmart Target Dollar G.BJ's Who. 
Mkt Cap427.52,463.7831.940.423.413.1234.0
P/S1.63.71.20.40.60.60.9
P/EBIT40.428.926.77.313.115.821.3
P/E54.534.939.010.319.622.628.7
P/CFO34.420.321.66.37.414.017.2
Total Yield2.1%2.9%3.4%14.8%6.2%4.4%3.9%
Dividend Yield0.2%0.0%0.9%5.1%1.1%0.0%0.5%
FCF Yield 3Y Avg2.0%1.1%2.8%5.6%4.5%2.5%2.7%
D/E0.00.10.10.50.70.20.1
Net D/E-0.00.00.10.40.70.20.1

Returns

COSTAMZNWMTTGTDGBJMedian
NameCostco W.Amazon.c.Walmart Target Dollar G.BJ's Who. 
1M Rtn-1.7%0.1%3.5%-15.3%-5.5%-5.4%-3.5%
3M Rtn-1.1%9.0%9.9%-5.5%-5.0%-8.3%-3.0%
6M Rtn6.8%18.5%21.7%-13.4%30.4%-9.8%12.6%
12M Rtn7.9%23.9%34.0%-39.2%26.7%24.3%24.1%
3Y Rtn99.1%87.5%144.0%-40.2%-54.0%26.5%57.0%
1M Excs Rtn-4.0%-2.3%1.2%-17.6%-7.8%-7.8%-5.9%
3M Excs Rtn-11.7%-2.5%0.6%-15.7%-16.2%-19.7%-13.7%
6M Excs Rtn-10.0%2.6%5.2%-30.6%14.3%-27.7%-3.7%
12M Excs Rtn-11.6%6.9%13.3%-56.3%11.3%4.5%5.7%
3Y Excs Rtn25.5%9.2%74.8%-103.8%-115.2%-34.1%-12.4%

Comparison Analyses

Title
0How Does COST Stack Up Against Its Peers?
1Costco Wholesale vs. Cardinal Health: With Return Forecast Of 22%, Cardinal Health Is A Better Bet
2Costco Wholesale vs. Microsoft: With Return Forecast Of 26%, Microsoft Is A Better Bet
3Costco Wholesale vs. Amazon.com: With Return Forecast Of 53%, Amazon.com Is A Better Bet
4Costco Wholesale vs. Target: With Return Forecast Of 11%, Target Is A Better Bet
5Costco Wholesale vs. BJ's Wholesale Club: With Return Forecast Of -4.6%, Costco Wholesale Is A Better Bet
6Costco Wholesale vs. Dollar General: With Return Forecast Of 14%, Dollar General Is A Better Bet
7Costco Wholesale vs. Walmart: With Return Forecast Of -4.6%, Costco Wholesale Is A Better Bet
8Costco Wholesale vs. Adobe: With Return Forecast Of 58%, Adobe Is A Better Bet
9Costco Wholesale vs. Netflix: With Return Forecast Of 52%, Netflix Is A Better Bet

Financials

$ Mil | FY: 9/12025Q32025Q22025Q12024Q42024Q32024Q22024Q12023Q42023Q32023Q22023Q12022Q4
Period End5/11/20252/16/202511/24/20249/1/20245/12/20242/18/202411/26/20239/3/20235/7/20232/12/202311/20/20228/28/2022
Filing Date6/5/20253/13/202512/19/202410/9/20246/6/20243/13/202412/20/202310/11/20236/1/20233/9/202312/29/202210/5/2022
Key Financials Quarterly            
Total Revenue63,20563,72362,15179,69758,51558,44257,79978,93953,64855,26654,43772,091
Ebitda3,1673,0102,8913,8682,8412,7922,6453,7072,2792,4872,2513,165
Operating Income2,5302,3162,1963,0422,1972,0621,9842,7811,6791,9031,7512,497
Net Income1,9031,7881,7982,3541,6811,7431,5892,1601,3021,4661,3641,868
EPS4.294.034.055.303.793.933.584.872.943.303.074.21
Key Financials TTM            
Total Revenue TTM268,776264,086258,805254,453253,695248,828245,652242,290235,442234,390231,028226,954
Ebitda TTM12,93612,61012,39212,14611,98511,42311,11810,72410,18210,1969,9829,898
Operating Income TTM10,0849,7519,4979,2859,0248,5068,3478,1147,8307,9427,8517,793
Net Income TTM7,8437,6217,5767,3677,1736,7946,5176,2926,0006,0515,8845,844
Growth Rates Quarterly            
Total Revenue Growth8.0%9.0%7.5%1.0%9.1%5.7%6.2%9.5%2.0%6.5%8.1%15.0%
EBITDA Growth11.5%7.8%9.3%4.3%24.7%12.3%17.5%17.1%-0.6%9.4%3.9%9.1%
Operating Income Growth15.2%12.3%10.7%9.4%30.9%8.4%13.3%11.4%-6.3%5.0%3.4%9.8%
Net Income Growth13.2%2.6%13.2%9.0%29.1%18.9%16.5%15.6%-3.8%12.9%3.0%11.9%
Margins Quarterly            
EBITDA Margin5.0%4.7%4.7%4.9%4.9%4.8%4.6%4.7%4.2%4.5%4.1%4.4%
Operating Income Margin4.0%3.6%3.5%3.8%3.8%3.5%3.4%3.5%3.1%3.4%3.2%3.5%
Net Income Margin3.0%2.8%2.9%3.0%2.9%3.0%2.7%2.7%2.4%2.7%2.5%2.6%
Cash & Debt            
Total Cash14,85013,15811,82711,14411,49910,32117,86415,23413,70813,70511,67311,049
Total Debt8,1808,0398,0338,2729,2979,4339,3478,8849,0049,1399,0469,039
Net Debt / (Cash)-6,670-5,119-3,794-2,872-2,202-888-8,517-6,350-4,704-4,566-2,627-2,010
Cash Flows Quarterly            
FCF from Operations3,4602,7483,2602,9582,9997314,6513,7251,5413,1922,6102,506
Cash Flows TTM            
FCF from Operations TTM12,42611,9659,94811,33912,10610,64813,10911,0689,8499,5356,7447,392
Returns to Shareholders Quarterly            
Dividends51505155145157,1079054523990400797
Share Repurchases211205207216162160162230162143141185
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) Quarterly            
ROIC-994.0%350.0%293.9%180.7%131.4%--595.6%634.4%221.9%244.7%
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) TTM            
ROIC TTM-1066.8%369.9%224.3%188.5%130.1%--706.0%672.4%242.1%193.0%

Segment Financials

Revenue by Segment

$ Mil20242023202220212020
Operation of membership warehouses242,290226,954195,929166,761152,703
Total242,290226,954195,929166,761152,703


Price Behavior

COST Betas & Captures as of 8/31/2025

 1M2M3M6M1Y3Y
Beta0.040.020.370.530.550.72
Up Beta0.010.240.530.570.590.69
Down Beta-0.34-0.430.030.490.460.67
Up Capture15%-19%-0%31%43%53%
Bmk +ve Days10223571142415
Stock +ve Days11192760124407
Down Capture15%39%100%71%68%91%
Bmk -ve Days11192754106334
Stock -ve Days10233666125343

[1] Upside and downside betas calculated using positive and negative benchmark daily returns respectively

Short Interest

Short Interest: As Of Date8292025
Short Interest: Shares Quantity6,839,849
Short Interest: % Change Since 815202515.8%
Average Daily Volume2,335,747
Days-to-Cover Short Interest2.93
Basic Shares Quantity443,958,000
Short % of Basic Shares1.5%

Returns Analyses

Earnings Returns History

Expand for More

 Forward Returns
Earnings Date1D Returns5D Returns21D Returns
5/29/20253.1%0.2%-1.9%
3/6/2025-6.1%-13.2%-10.7%
12/12/20240.1%-3.4%-6.6%
9/26/2024-1.8%-2.9%-1.1%
5/30/2024-0.7%3.3%3.7%
3/7/2024-7.6%-6.8%-9.4%
12/14/20234.4%5.5%10.9%
9/26/20231.9%2.2%-0.5%
...
SUMMARY STATS   
# Positive141414
# Negative101010
Median Positive1.8%2.6%5.5%
Median Negative-1.6%-3.1%-3.3%
Max Positive6.6%5.5%13.1%
Max Negative-7.6%-13.2%-10.7%

SEC Filings

Expand for More

Report DateFiling DateFiling
5312025605202510-Q 5/11/2025
2282025313202510-Q 2/16/2025
113020241219202410-Q 11/24/2024
83120241009202410-K 9/1/2024
5312024606202410-Q 5/12/2024
2292024313202410-Q 2/18/2024
113020231220202310-Q 11/26/2023
83120231011202310-K 9/3/2023
5312023601202310-Q 5/7/2023
2282023309202310-Q 2/12/2023
113020221229202210-Q 11/20/2022
83120221005202210-K 8/28/2022
5312022602202210-Q 5/8/2022
2282022310202210-Q 2/13/2022
113020211222202110-Q 11/21/2021
83120211006202110-K 8/29/2021

Insider Activity

Expand for More

 OwnerTitleFiling DateActionPriceSharesTransacted
Value		Value of
Held Shares		Form
0Jones Teresa A.Executive Vice President8222025Sell992.05600595,2302,343,346Form
1Rubanenko YoramExecutive Vice President7152025Sell974.964,0003,899,8525,629,468Form
2DECKER SUSAN L 6202025Sell980.00546535,08011,301,297Form
3Callans Patrick JExecutive Vice President6102025Sell1002.773,0003,008,29858,704,666Form
4Riel PierreExecutive Vice President6092025Sell1014.152,0002,028,2948,326,396Form

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