Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Stock

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) is a Consumer Discretionary stock trading at $936.00 (as of 2026-07-20), with a market capitalization of $415.10B and a trailing P/E of 47.0. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouse stores in multiple countries and sells a range of merchandise, including groceries and general merchandise categories, along with private-label and branded products. It also provides services such as pharmacies, optical services, food courts, hearing-aid centers, tire installation, and related retail and delivery offerings for members.

Understand Costco Wholesale Corporation: how it makes money

Costco runs membership warehouse stores that sell a wide range of branded and private-label merchandise, and it makes money from member spending at its warehouses and through its e-commerce channel.

Costco's profit model is built on keeping members coming back, where high membership renewal supports sales in a business that operates at a thin operating margin (4.0%), alongside growth in digitally enabled and e-commerce comparable sales.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
Retail$69.2B

Business quality (Mixed): Strong visibility into operating drivers (membership renewals and comparable sales), but the provided data does not include a detailed official segment revenue breakdown beyond a single net sales line.

Valuation: At 49× earnings, COST trades 158% above the Retail average (19×). Note: one-time items can distort reported P/E.

Bull case

  • Membership stays sticky, with a 92.2% Membership Renewal Rate (U.S. and Canada): That supports the core sales base in a warehouse membership model.
  • Digital channels are contributing to sales momentum, with 21.5% Digitally Enabled Comparable Sales and 13.6% E-commerce Comparable Sales: This suggests online growth is helping drive comparable sales beyond physical stores alone.

Bear case

  • Operating profitability is pressured by the thin operating margin (4.0%): If Membership Renewal Rate or Comparable Sales weaken, there is less room for error in operating results.
  • Comparable sales are not one-dimensional, with U.S. Comparable Sales at 6.6% and Other International Comparable Sales at 1.7%: Slower growth in parts of the footprint could offset stronger areas, limiting consolidated gains.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$936.00
Market Cap$415.10B
P/E Ratio47.0
EV / EBITDA33.1
Price / Book12.39
Price / Sales1.41
FCF Yield2.7%
DCF Value (model)$432.23
DCF Upside vs Price-53.8%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$275.24B
Net Margin2.9%
Revenue Growth (YoY)11.6%
EPS Growth (YoY)15.2%
FCF Growth (YoY)16.3%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score9.64 (safe)
Piotroski F-Score6/9 (moderate)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E47.0
Sector P/E (Consumer Discretionary)21.6
Industry P/E (Retail)19.1
vs Sector117.9%
vs Industry145.6%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Insider Sells (12mo)12
Top Institutional HolderVANGUARD GROUP INC ($37.62B)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Congressional Trades (recent)10
Company
SectorConsumer Discretionary
IndustryRetail
CEORon Vachris
Employees333,000
CountryUS
IPO Date1986-07-09

Related Companies (Business model: Brick-and-Mortar Retail (incl. Omnichannel); 8 closest by market cap; US-domiciled)

  • Walmart Inc. (WMT)
  • The Home Depot, Inc. (HD)
  • The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX)
  • CVS Health Corporation (CVS)
  • Target Corporation (TGT)
  • Dollar General Corporation (DG)
  • Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR)
  • Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL)
COST earnings history · COST institutional & insider holders · COST KPIs & operating metrics · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-07-20.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.