Zacks Research Predicts Lower Earnings for Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, June 19th. Zacks Research analyst S. Singh now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings of $5.84 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $5.88. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q1 2026 earnings at $4.27 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.46 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.80 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $20.00 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.67 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $4.90 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $5.21 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.80 EPS.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis.

COST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,001.92 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $444.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.83, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,003.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $981.25.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,647 shares of company stock valued at $10,530,961. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $95,452,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.