Loading…
Loading…
$940.87
Market Capi
$419B
Growth-adj P/E (3-yr hist)i
4.5x
Growth-adj P/E (3-yr proj)i
3.4x
P/S 26Ei
1.4x
P/S 28Ei
1.2x
EV/EBIT 26Ei
35x
EV/EBIT 28Ei
28x
P/E 26Ei
46x
P/E 28Ei
38x
P/S 26Ei
1.4x
EV/EBIT 26Ei
35x
P/E 26Ei
46x
P/S 28Ei
1.2x
EV/EBIT 28Ei
28x
P/E 28Ei
38x
Revenue
2026E
$301B
Gross Margini
13%
Hist. CAGRi
6.6%
Proj. CAGRi
8.3%
EBIT
2026E
$12B
Op. Margini
3.8%
Hist. CAGRi
10%
Proj. CAGRi
11%
Net profit
2026E
$9.1B
Net Margini
2.9%
Hist. CAGRi
12%
Proj. CAGRi
11%
Business Model
Recent Developments
Average Targeti
$1,082.94+14%
Consensusi
Outperform
36 analysts covering
Net cashi
$12B
Div. Yieldi
0.6%
Dilutioni
0.0%
Market Capi
$419B
P/E 26Ei
46x
Adj. P/E (fwd.)i
3.4x
Revenue 26E
$301B
Proj. CAGRi
8.3%
Gross Margini
13%
EBIT 26E
$12B
Proj. CAGRi
11%
Op. Margini
3.8%
Net Profit 26E
$9.1B
Proj. CAGRi
11%
Net Margini
2.9%
Average Targeti
$1,082.94+14%
Consensusi
Outperform
36 analysts covering
Profile
Costco operates a global network of membership-only warehouse clubs selling a tightly curated selection of merchandise — groceries, household goods, electronics, appliances, apparel, and more — at deeply discounted prices. The business operates primarily as a single retail segment, with revenue split between product sales and membership fees:
As of August 2025, Costco operated 914 warehouse locations across 14 countries, with the U.S. and Puerto Rico accounting for 629 locations.
Industry
Costco serves a broad consumer and small-business membership base, skewed toward higher-income households who value value-per-unit pricing over convenience. Geographically, the U.S. generates roughly 73% of net sales, Canada ~13%, with the remaining ~14% from international markets including Mexico, Japan, the UK, Korea, Australia, and Taiwan. The warehouse club format competes with mass-market retailers and grocers but operates with structurally lower SKU counts (~4,000 vs. 30,000+ at a typical supermarket), creating purchasing scale that few rivals can match.
Key metrics
Economic moat
Costco's moat rests on membership lock-in and purchasing scale working in tandem. The annual fee creates a structural incentive to shop more frequently and spend more per visit to justify the cost — generating behavioral loyalty that pure price competition cannot easily replicate. Massive purchasing volumes allow Costco to negotiate supplier terms unavailable to most competitors, driving the consistently low prices that reinforce membership retention. The Kirkland Signature private label extends this further: a trusted house brand that commands loyalty while delivering margins above national brands. Together, these factors create a self-reinforcing cycle that has kept renewal rates above 90% for decades.
Ron Vachris
Vachris became CEO on January 1, 2024, succeeding Craig Jelinek after a career spent entirely inside Costco. He joined the company in 1986 as a forklift operator and worked his way through warehouse operations and merchandising before becoming President and COO in 2023. His deep operational background reflects Costco's culture of promoting from within and prioritizing floor-level execution over external strategic hires.
Gary Millerchip
Millerchip joined Costco as CFO in March 2024, coming from Kroger where he served as Chief Financial Officer for nearly a decade. His hire brought external large-cap retail finance experience to a company that had previously promoted its CFOs from within. Millerchip's Kroger background gives him direct experience navigating food retail cost structures and competitive pricing dynamics.
Javier Polit
Polit has served as Chief Technology Officer since November 2023, leading Costco's digital and technology agenda during a period of significant e-commerce investment. His appointment coincides with Costco's push into digital commerce, which posted 21.5% comparable sales growth in Q3 FY2026. Prior to Costco, Polit held technology leadership roles at Alphabet's Google Cloud division.
Other key figures
Patrick Callans (Chief Administrative Officer since 2018) oversees HR and compliance functions and is one of the longer-tenured members of the current executive team. Hamilton James serves as non-executive Chairman of the board, a role he has held since July 2017; James is a former Blackstone executive and brings capital allocation and governance experience to the board.
P/S Ratioi
EV/EBITi
P/E Ratioi
Revenue
CAGR (hist. 3-yr)i
0%
CAGR (proj. 3-yr)i
0%
EBIT
CAGR (hist. 3-yr)i
0%
CAGR (proj. 3-yr)i
0%
Net profit
CAGR (hist. 3-yr)i
0%
CAGR (proj. 3-yr)i
0%
Values in billions of USD.
Operating cashflow · Levered Free Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow
CAPEX
Values in billions of USD.
Margins
Rentability
Balance sheet
Values in billions of USD.
Liquidity ratios
Debt-to-Equity-Ratio
Last earnings
Q3 fiscal 2026 net sales rose 11.6% to $69.2 billion, with total revenue of $70.5 billion beating analyst estimates. EPS of $4.93 per diluted share came in ahead of consensus and grew meaningfully from the prior-year quarter.
Comparable sales increased 9.8% company-wide (6.6% excluding gasoline and foreign exchange), with international markets outpacing the U.S. E-commerce comparable sales surged 21.5%, reflecting continued digital penetration across categories.
Membership fee income grew 10.7% year-over-year, benefiting from the September 2024 fee increase, membership base expansion, and ongoing upgrades to Executive memberships. Paid memberships grew 4.1% in the quarter.
CEO Ron Vachris highlighted record-breaking gasoline volumes in the final weeks of the quarter, with five of Costco's highest-volume gas weeks ever as consumers sought cheaper fuel amid elevated energy prices.
Recent developments
On May 28, 2026, Costco reported Q3 results and reaffirmed its expansion cadence, with 4 net new warehouses opened in the quarter bringing the global count to 928. Management reiterated a target of 30+ net new openings per year as part of a multi-year $6.5 billion expansion strategy.
Costco has been actively managing its tariff exposure, adjusting supply chains in Canada, Mexico, and other international markets to reduce imported cost pressure. The company is also leveraging regional U.S. buyers to source local and specialty products, an approach that proved effective in 2025 and is being scaled in 2026.
Website and app traffic rose 37% in Q3, underscoring momentum in Costco's digital channel. E-commerce has become a more meaningful growth layer alongside the core warehouse business.
Debate & sentiment
Bulls point to Costco's pricing resilience as a tariff hedge: the membership model and private-label depth allow the company to absorb or deflect cost increases better than conventional retailers, potentially gaining share during periods of consumer cost-consciousness.
The key bear case centers on valuation: the stock trades at stretched multiples relative to most retail peers, pricing in continued strong execution with limited room for disappointment. Slowing comparable sales or any membership growth deceleration could compress the multiple quickly.
A second concern is the consumer spending trajectory: Costco's higher-income membership skews the base toward resilient shoppers, but a broad spending slowdown or deteriorating consumer confidence could pressure discretionary categories and slow the ticket growth that has supported recent results.
Analyst consensus remains firmly constructive, with most covering analysts holding Outperform-equivalent ratings and price targets well above current levels — though several have flagged that current pricing already reflects a favorable outlook.
Consensusi
Outperform
Average targeti
$1,082.94+14%
Highest targeti
$1,315.00+38%
Lowest targeti
$740.00-22%
Nice, you made it all the way through!
Free for 14 days, then $9/month for every report, every metric, and every feature. Straightforward, as it should be. Future additions included. Cancel anytime.