In the latest market close, Costco (COST) reached $1,014.89, with a +0.65% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.64%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.24%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.74%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 10.02% over the past month. This has outpaced the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 0.16% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.38% in that time.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Costco in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on May 29, 2025. In that report, analysts expect Costco to post earnings of $4.25 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 12.43%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $63 billion, indicating a 7.67% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $17.96 per share and a revenue of $274.3 billion, signifying shifts of +11.48% and +7.8%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Costco. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending 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, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.09% increase. Right now, Costco possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Costco is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 56.16. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 21.93 of its industry.
We can additionally observe that COST currently boasts a PEG ratio of 6.02. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Retail - Discount Stores industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.65 as of yesterday's close.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 94, this industry ranks in the top 39% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within 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 use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
