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$946.92
Market Capi
$420B
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
34x
EV/EBIT 28Ei
28x
P/E 26Ei
46x
P/E 28Ei
38x
P/S 26Ei
1.4x
EV/EBIT 26Ei
34x
P/E 26Ei
46x
P/S 28Ei
1.2x
EV/EBIT 28Ei
28x
P/E 28Ei
38x
Revenue
2026E
$302B
Gross Margini
13%
Hist. CAGRi
6.6%
Proj. CAGRi
8.4%
EBIT
2026E
$12B
Op. Margini
3.8%
Hist. CAGRi
10%
Proj. CAGRi
11%
Net profit
2026E
$9.2B
Net Margini
2.9%
Hist. CAGRi
12%
Proj. CAGRi
11%
Business Model
Recent Developments
Average Targeti
$1,057.94+15%
Consensusi
Outperform
38 analysts covering
Net cashi
$17B
Div. Yieldi
0.6%
Dilutioni
0.0%
Market Capi
$420B
P/E 26Ei
46x
Adj. P/E (fwd.)i
3.4x
Revenue 26E
$302B
Proj. CAGRi
8.4%
Gross Margini
13%
EBIT 26E
$12B
Proj. CAGRi
11%
Op. Margini
3.8%
Net Profit 26E
$9.2B
Proj. CAGRi
11%
Net Margini
2.9%
Average Targeti
$1,057.94+15%
Consensusi
Outperform
38 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 2026, Costco operated 939 warehouse locations across the countries it serves, with the U.S. and Puerto Rico accounting for 647 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 about five years. 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 Executive Vice President and Chief Information and Digital Officer since December 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 was Chief Information Officer at Mondelez International and, before that, at Procter & Gamble.
Other key figures
Patrick Callans (Executive Vice President, Administration since 2019) oversees HR and administrative 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 August 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
Costco's fiscal third-quarter results, reported May 28, 2026, showed net sales of $69.15 billion, up 11.6% year over year, with total revenue of $70.53 billion. Diluted EPS came in at $4.93, a modest beat versus the roughly $4.91 analyst consensus heading into the print. The standout was digitally-enabled comparable sales, up 21.5%, alongside record gasoline volumes, while total comparable sales grew 9.8% (6.6% excluding gas and foreign-exchange effects).
Membership fee revenue rose to $1.373 billion, up from $1.240 billion a year earlier. Management's outlook commentary pointed to tariffs, wage inflation, and healthcare cost increases as ongoing pressures on the cost structure, alongside foreign-exchange effects on international results.
Recent developments
The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.47 per share, paid August 7, 2026. Costco continued its warehouse expansion, opening new locations through the summer as part of a plan to add roughly 26 net new warehouses in fiscal 2026, bringing the global count to 939 warehouses as of August 30, 2026.
For the four weeks ended August 30, 2026, the company reported net sales of $23.70 billion, up 9.9% year over year, with total comparable sales up 8.4% and digitally-enabled comparable sales up 17.9%. Management noted that a later Labor Day holiday in the U.S. and Canada trimmed the period's growth rate by just under 75 basis points.
Debate & sentiment
Bulls point to continued strength in executive memberships and fee income, which has grown faster than merchandise sales and reinforces the recurring-revenue engine underlying the model. Sustained double-digit growth in digital comparable sales and app engagement supports the view that e-commerce is becoming a structural growth driver rather than a side business.
Skeptics counter that valuation multiples remain elevated relative to Costco's own history and the broader retail sector, leaving little room for a stumble. A notable minority of covering analysts rate the stock Hold or Sell despite a consensus Outperform rating, reflecting concern that tariff-driven cost pressure and slowing core margins could weigh on returns even as top-line growth stays strong.
Consensusi
Outperform
Average targeti
$1,057.94+15%
Highest targeti
$1,315.00+43%
Lowest targeti
$770.00-16%
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