In the latest close session, Costco (COST) was up +1.21% at $925.08. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.66%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.65%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.29%.
Coming into today, shares of the warehouse club operator had lost 4.29% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 5.21%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.64%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Costco in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on December 11, 2025. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.24, up 10.99% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $67.15 billion, up 8.04% from the year-ago period.
COST's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $19.97 per share and revenue of $296.34 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +11.01% and +7.67%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Costco. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.09% lower within the past month. Costco is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Costco is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 45.78. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 26.26.
Meanwhile, COST's PEG ratio is currently 5.55. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Retail - Discount Stores industry stood at 2.68 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 87, positioning it in the top 36% 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.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming 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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