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Costco Wholesale Corp COST Stock Quote

Morningstar Rating
| Rating as of

NASDAQ: COST

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| Currency in USD

  • Last Close 552.96
  • Sector Consumer Defensive
  • Industry Discount Stores
  • Investment Style Large Blend
  • Day Range 544.73  –  566.42
  • Year Range 447.90  –  571.16
  • Market Cap 248.1631 Bil
  • Volume / Avg 2.9 Mil /  1.6 Mil
  • Price / Sales 1.01
  • Price / Book 9.78
  • Forward Div Yield 0.77%
  • Trailing Div Yield 0.69%

Morningstar‘s Stock Analysis COST

Valuation
Currency in —
Is it the right time to buy or sell?
Find out with Morningstar Investor
Is it the right time to buy or sell?
Find out with Morningstar Investor

1-Star Price

INVESTOR

5-Star Price

INVESTOR

Economic Moat

INVESTOR

Capital Allocation

INVESTOR

Costco Earnings: Retailer Delivers Strong Results, but Top-Line Growth Moderates

Noah Rohr Analyst

Analyst Note

| Noah Rohr |

Wide-moat Costco delivered a fiscal fourth quarter that was mostly in line with our expectations. Net sales expanded by 9% to over $77 billion during the quarter and comparable sales (excluding gasoline prices and foreign currency impacts) improved by nearly 4% as customers continued to flock to Costco’s banner. The retailer posted global traffic growth of 5.2% during the quarter, though a pullback in spending on big-ticket discretionary items and fuel price deflation weighed on the average ticket. Despite operating amid an uncertain economic backdrop, we surmise Costco boasts an enviable industry position given the retailer’s enticing value proposition and resounding customer base, leaving our long-term outlook intact. As such, we don't expect to alter our $450 fair value estimate materially, and we view shares as overvalued.

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Key Statistics COST

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Company Profile COST

Business Description

Costco operates a membership-based, no-frills retail model, predicated on offering a select product assortment in bulk quantities at bargain prices. The firm avoids maintaining costly product displays by keeping inventory on pallets and limits distribution expenses by storing its inventory at point of sale in the warehouse. Given Costco’s frugal cost structure, the firm is able to price its merchandise below competing retailers, driving high sales volume per warehouse and allowing the retailer to generate strong profits on thin margins. Costco operates 591 warehouses in the United States and boasts over 60% market share in the domestic warehouse club industry. Internationally, Costco operates another 270 warehouses, primarily in markets such as Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the U.K.

Contact
999 Lake Drive
Issaquah, WA, 98027
Sector Consumer Defensive
Industry Discount Stores
Employees 304,000

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Related News COST

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Competitors & Peers COST

More on COST’s Competitors & Peers

Morningstar analysts hand-select direct competitors or comparable companies to provide context on the strength and durability of COST’s competitive advantage.

Costco Wholesale Corp

XNAS: COST

The Kroger Co

XNYS: KR

Target Corp

XNYS: TGT

Walmart Inc

XNYS: WMT
Price
560.0144.50109.19160.69
Currency
USDUSDUSDUSD
Change
+$7.05 (1.27%) −$0.65 (1.44%) −$0.29 (0.26%) −$1.81 (1.11%)
Market Cap
248.16 Bil32.02 Bil50.39 Bil432.59 Bil
Industry
Discount Stores Grocery Stores Discount Stores Discount Stores
Sector
Consumer Defensive
Consumer Defensive
Consumer Defensive
Consumer Defensive

* Trading data in this section is delayed by at least 15 minutes.

FAQs for Costco Wholesale Corp Stock

Yes. COST has a forward dividend yield of 0.74%. See COST’s full dividends and stock split history on the Dividend tab.
Dividend yield allows investors, particularly those interested in dividend-paying stocks, to compare the relationship between a stock’s price and how it rewards stockholders through dividends. The formula for calculating dividend yield is to divide the annual dividend paid per share by the stock price.

Learn more about dividend yield.

COST’s market cap is 248.16 Bil.
Market capitalization is calculated by taking a company’s share price and multiplying it by the total number of shares. It’s often used to measure a company’s size. In the Morningstar Style Box, large-cap names account for the largest 70% of U.S. stocks, mid-cap names account for the largest 70–90%, and small-cap names are the remaining 10% of companies.

Learn more about market capitalization.

COST’s stock style is Large Core.
Style is an investment factor that has a meaningful impact on investment risk and returns. Style is calculated by combining value and growth scores, which are first individually calculated.

High-growth stocks tend to represent the technology, healthcare, and communications sectors. They rarely distribute dividends to shareholders, opting for reinvestment in their businesses. More value-oriented stocks tend to represent financial services, utilities, and energy stocks. These are established companies that reliably pay dividends.

Learn more about style.

COST’s price/sales is 1.01.
Price/sales represents the amount an investor is willing to pay for a dollar generated from a particular company’s sales or revenues.

COST’s price/forward earnings is 39.05.
Forward P/E gives some indication of how cheap or expensive a stock is compared with consensus earnings estimates. The lower the Forward P/E, the cheaper the stock.

COST’s price/book is 9.78.
Price/book ratio can tell investors approximately how much they’re paying for a company’s assets, based on historical, rather than current, valuations. Historical valuations generally do not reflect a company’s current market value. Value investors frequently look for companies that have low price/book ratios.

See COST’s valuation ratios compared to the Market Index.

COST’s beta can be found in Trading Information at the top of this page.
A stock’s beta measures how closely tied its price movements have been to the performance of the overall market.

Compare COST’s historical performance against its industry peers and the overall market.