Costco (COST) closed the most recent trading day at $979.31, moving +1.65% from the previous trading session. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.79%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.78%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.64%.
Heading into today, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 6.58% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 3.65% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.56% in that time.
The upcoming earnings release of Costco will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on May 29, 2025. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $4.24, reflecting a 12.17% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $63.05 billion, up 7.75% from the prior-year quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $17.95 per share and revenue of $274.23 billion, indicating changes of +11.42% and +7.77%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Costco. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.04% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Costco presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Costco is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 53.67. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 22.09.
We can additionally observe that COST currently boasts a PEG ratio of 5.75. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Retail - Discount Stores industry stood at 2.51 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 167, positioning it in the bottom 33% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. 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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