Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) is a publicly traded company in the Consumer Defensive — Discount Stores industry listed on NASDAQ. This overview shows the latest price, key valuation ratios, profitability metrics and financial-health indicators used by fundamental investors.
Costco Wholesale Corporation, alongside its group entities, operates membership-based retail warehouses across a broad international scope, spanning the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. These outlets provide customers with an extensive array of both well-known branded and proprietary private-label products.
Is Costco Wholesale Corporation stock overvalued or undervalued in 2026?
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) trades at 48.8× earnings (P/E), above the median of the 95 consumer staples companies over $2bn in Kaplio's universe. At the decade median (41.4×) $860 (-15 %); at its sector median (22.4×) $466 (-54 %).
Kaplio overview: Costco Wholesale Corporation
Market cap $449B · 52 weeks $850 – $1,094 (7 % below the high) · P/E 48.8× · 2027 expected P/E 44.4× · Dividend 0.56 % · Next earnings December 10, 2026 · expected EPS $4.93 · Closing price, Oct 30 · accounts published Sep 24.
- Valuation: P/E 48.8× (fairly priced).
- Business: ROIC 19 % (solid).
- Balance sheet: Net cash/EBITDA 0.8× (solid).
- Earnings: 6 of 8 (on track).
What would it be worth at its usual multiples?
At the decade median (41.4×) $860 (-15 %); at its sector median (22.4×) $466 (-54 %). Implied price from applying the reference multiples to today's earnings (or book value, or FFO) per share. Not a fair value: it is where the stock would trade at its usual multiples.
What matters in consumer staples: 6 of 8 pass
- Gross margin (stable 5y) 12.8 %, fails.
- P/E vs own 10y history 48.8×, fails.
- Stable ROE / ROIC 28.0 %, passes.
- FCF / Net Income 101.8 %, passes.
- 10y dividend growth 12.5 %, passes.
- 10y EPS growth 14.5 %, passes.
- Payout Ratio 26.6 %, passes.
- Net debt / EBITDA −0.8×, passes.
Against its peers (reference peers) — Costco Wholesale Corporation: P/E 48.8×; EV/EBITDA 30.4×; ROIC 18.6 %; $449B. Walmart Inc. (P/E 44.8×; EV/EBITDA 22.4×; ROIC 12.7 %; $983B), Target Corporation (P/E 16.0×; EV/EBITDA 9.0×; ROIC 11.3 %; $70.1B), Dollar General Corporation (P/E 17.2×; EV/EBITDA 12.3×; ROIC 7.0 %; $29.2B).
Expensive or cheap against its last ten years?
P/E at each close: today 48.8× · median 41.4× · minimum 27.2× · maximum 66.6× · cheap below 36.6× · expensive above 53.1×. It has been cheaper than today 69% of the time over its last ten years.
Dividend
tight (only raised recently) · Yield 0.56 % ($5.54 per share in 2026) · Years raising it 1 · 5-year growth -16 % a year · Free cash flow coverage 1.7× · With $1,000 invested today you'd collect $5.60 a year ($0.47 a month).
Kaplio's reading: Costco Wholesale Corporation
Updated on October 23, 2026 · accounts published on September 24, 2026
A highly profitable business with record operating margins and more cash than debt
Costco Wholesale trades at a P/E of 48.8 over the last 12 months, 117 % above its sector median and 18 % above its own ten-year median.
- Is Costco Wholesale expensive or cheap? Its P/E is 117 % above the sector median, and over the past decade the stock traded lower 69 % of the time.
- How is the business doing? Operating margin reached 3.9 % in fiscal 2026, the highest of the last 12 fiscal years and above their 3.4 % average.
- How strong is the balance sheet? Costco Wholesale held net cash of $28.34 per share in fiscal 2026, with net debt at −0.8× EBITDA.
- Is it as stable as the sector promises? Costco Wholesale passes 6 of 8 consumer staples tests and fails two: a 12.8 % gross margin and its P/E against its own history.
- What to expect from the next earnings? Results are due December 10, 2026, with EPS expected at $4.93; 39 of 59 analysts recommend buying.
Is Costco Wholesale expensive or cheap?
Costco Wholesale trades at a P/E of 48.8 over the last 12 months. That is 18 % above its ten-year median of 41.4× and more than double the 22.5× median of its 95 sector peers. Over the decade the multiple ranged from 27.2× to 66.6×, so today it sits in the upper part of that band without being at an extreme. The other yardsticks agree: EV/EBITDA of 30.4×, P/B of 12.6× and a free cash flow yield of 2.2 %, a thin return on each dollar paid. The stock is 7 % below its 52-week high of $1,094.32 and up 8 % over the last 12 months.
How is the business doing?
Over the last 12 months revenue grew 10 % and EPS grew 14 %, so profits are rising faster than sales. The margins line up with that: the operating margin of 3.9 % in fiscal 2026 is the best of the 12 fiscal years since 2015, against an average of 3.4 %. Margins this thin mean every dollar of sales earns very little, yet the capital behind them earns a lot. ROIC of 18.6 % over the last 12 months is 9.7 points above the 8.9 % sector median, and it has stayed above 10 % in each of the last 10 fiscal years.
How strong is the balance sheet?
The company holds more cash than debt: $47.98 per share of cash against $19.64 of debt in fiscal 2026, which leaves net cash equal to 2.8 % of the share price. Debt to equity is 0.24 over the last 12 months, the Altman Z of 9.0 sits well inside the safe zone and a Piotroski score of 8 out of 9 points to solid fundamentals. The current ratio of 1.06 is the only modest figure. The dividend yields 0.6 % and took 27 % of earnings in fiscal 2026, so it uses only a small share of profit.
Is it as stable as the sector promises?
Consumer staples investors want steady compounding and a growing dividend, so the tests reward cash conversion, low debt and dividend growth over fast expansion. Costco Wholesale passes most of them: ROE of 28 % against a healthy mark of 15 %, free cash flow at 102 % of net income in fiscal 2026 (healthy from 90 %), and annual growth of 12.5 % in the dividend and 14.5 % in EPS over 2016-2026, both more than double the 6 % bar. It fails on gross margin, 12.8 % in fiscal 2026 against a 35 % stability threshold, and on its P/E of 48.8, which is more than 110 % of its 43.2× ten-year fiscal average.
What to expect from the next earnings?
Costco Wholesale has beaten EPS estimates in 6 of the last 8 quarters. On September 24, 2026 it reported EPS of $6.75 against $6.54 expected, a 3 % beat. Expectations are edging higher: over the last 30 days the 2027 EPS consensus rose 0.6 %, from $22.66 to $22.79 across 27 analysts, and the 2027 revenue consensus rose 0.7 %. Of 59 analysts, 39 recommend buying, 19 holding and 1 selling. At a P/E of 48.8 the bar is high, so for the December 10 report the beat streak may count for more than simply meeting the $4.93 forecast.
How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.
Investor methods verdict
Would Buffett approve Costco Wholesale today?
The Buffett Method would wait for a better price for Costco Wholesale: it yields 2.2% before tax; it asks for 10%. Business quality: 93 out of 100 (price not included). Kaplio assessment with data from the week of 2026-10-26; not investment advice.
Would Peter Lynch approve Costco Wholesale today?
The Lynch Method would wait for a better price for Costco Wholesale: P/E 48.8 with 13% growth; it asks that the P/E not exceed growth. Business quality: 91 out of 100 (price not included). Lynch classifies it as a stalwart. Kaplio assessment with data from the week of 2026-10-26; not investment advice.
Profitability
| Return on Equity | 28.02% |
| Return on Invested Capital | 18.59% |
| Return on Assets | 10.36% |
| Gross Margin | 12.82% |
| Operating Margin | 3.85% |
| Net Margin | 3.04% |
Financial Health
| Debt / Equity | 0.24 |
| Current Ratio | 1.06 |
| Piotroski F-Score | 8 |
| Altman Z-Score | 9.04 |
Compare it with
Price Performance
| 1 month | +9.95% |
| 3 months | +6.10% |
| Year-to-date | +17.39% |
| 1 year | +11.06% |
| 3 years | +82.07% |
| 5 years | +103.68% |
| 10 years | +600.78% |
Dividend History
Paid in the last 12 months: $5.7100 per share in 4 payments.
| Date | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-30 | $1.4700 |
| 2026-07-24 | $1.4700 |
| 2026-05-01 | $1.4700 |
| 2026-01-30 | $1.3000 |
| 2025-10-31 | $1.3000 |
| 2025-08-01 | $1.3000 |
| 2025-05-02 | $1.3000 |
| 2025-02-07 | $1.1600 |
| 2024-11-01 | $1.1600 |
| 2024-07-26 | $1.1600 |
Amounts adjusted for stock splits.
Related companies: WMT · DLTR · TGT · KR · DG · BJ
Explore sector: Consumer Defensive · Discount Stores
More sections of COST: Financials · Valuation · Statistics · Estimates · Technical · Ownership · News · Events
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