Costco (COST) closed at $956.29 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.34% move from the prior day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.3% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.48%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.03%.
The warehouse club operator's stock has dropped by 1.21% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 5% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.09%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Costco in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on September 25, 2025. In that report, analysts expect Costco to post earnings of $5.79 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 12.43%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $86.14 billion, indicating a 8.08% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
COST's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $17.97 per share and revenue of $275.19 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +11.55% and 0%, respectively.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Costco. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.35% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. As of now, Costco holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Costco is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 49.33. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 22.01.
Investors should also note that COST has a PEG ratio of 5.51 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Retail - Discount Stores stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.64 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, positioning it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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