Costco (COST) ended the recent trading session at $922.03, demonstrating a +1.1% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.25%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.39%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.59%.
The warehouse club operator's shares have seen a decrease of 1.73% over the last month, not keeping up with the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 0.34% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.23%.
The upcoming earnings release of Costco will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on December 11, 2025. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $4.24, signifying a 10.99% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue 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 +10.26%, respectively.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Costco. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% lower. At present, Costco boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Looking at valuation, Costco is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 45.68. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 25.24 for its industry.
We can additionally observe that COST currently boasts a PEG ratio of 6.19. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry was having an average PEG ratio of 3.39.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 97, finds itself in the top 40% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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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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