In the latest trading session, Costco (COST) closed at $1,014.53, marking a +1.59% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.02%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.62%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.89%.
Heading into today, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 0.21% over the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 13.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 12.23%.
The upcoming earnings release of Costco will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on May 28, 2026. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $4.88, reflecting a 14.02% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $68.87 billion, up 8.96% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $20.32 per share and a revenue of $298.54 billion, demonstrating changes of +12.95% and +8.47%, respectively, from the preceding year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Costco. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.03% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Costco presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Costco is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 49.16. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 28.09.
It's also important to note that COST currently trades at a PEG ratio of 4.92. 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 of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry held an average PEG ratio of 3.07.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 94, which puts it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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 follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
