Costco (COST)
Consumer Staples · $399B market cap · SEC CIK 0000909832
$899.41
▲+0.10% on the day
close of Sep 22, 2026
48
Mixed
fundamentals score out of 100
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Mar 3, 2027, with analysts expecting $5.21 in earnings per share.
The case for COST
- Earns 28% back on shareholder equity.
- Holds more cash ($16.2B) than long-term debt ($5.7B).
- Revenue growing 9.2% year over year.
- Has compounded revenue at 10.5% a year over five years.
The case against
- Pricey at 45.1× earnings, against a long-run market average nearer 20×.
- Net margin of 3.0% leaves very little room for error.
- The price trend is weak (33/100): -5.5% over a year, -5.6% over three months, 22% of the way up its 52-week range.
- Free-cash-flow yield of 2.0% is lower than 89% of Consumer Staples companies.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Consumer Staples companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 24 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 78 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 45 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 33 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 62 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 36 Consumer Staples companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 45.1× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | 13.23× |
| Price / sales | 1.4× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +9.2% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | +12.8% |
| Gross margin | 13% |
| Operating margin | 4% |
| Net margin | 3% |
| Return on equity | 28% |
| Debt / equity | 0.17× |
| Current ratio | 1.07 |
| Dividend yield | 0.69% |
| Beta | 0.86 |
| 52-week range | $844.06 – $1,097 |
| Position in that range | 22% of the way up |
| 3-month return | -5.6% |
| 1-year return | -5.5% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Costco's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $275B | $254B | $242B | $227B | $196B |
| Operating income | $10.4B | $9.3B | $8.1B | $7.8B | $6.7B |
| Net income | $8.1B | $7.4B | $6.3B | $5.8B | $5.0B |
| Operating cash flow | $13.3B | $11.3B | $11.1B | $7.4B | $9.0B |
| Capital expenditure | $5.5B | $4.7B | $4.3B | $3.9B | $3.6B |
| Total assets | $82.8B | $73.4B | $73.7B | $66.0B | $64.1B |
| Total liabilities | $52.5B | $48.9B | $47.6B | $44.6B | $45.1B |
| Shareholder equity | $30.3B | $24.5B | $26.1B | $21.5B | $18.5B |
| Cash | $16.2B | $10.9B | $17.0B | $10.9B | $12.8B |
| Long-term debt | $5.7B | $5.7B | $5.9B | $6.5B | $6.7B |
| Free cash flow | $7.8B | $6.6B | $6.7B | $3.5B | $5.4B |
| Operating margin | 3.8% | 3.6% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.4% |
| Net margin | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.6% |
| Diluted shares | 445M | 445M | 444M | 445M | 444M |
Share count is essentially flat over 4 years.
Risk factors COST lists in its 10-K
- Information about our Executive Officers
- We are highly dependent on the financial performance of our U.S. and Canadian operations
- Our failure to maintain membership growth, loyalty and brand recognition could adversely affect our results of operations
- Disruptions in merchandise distribution or processing, packaging, manufacturing, and other facilities could adversely affect sales and member satisfaction
- We may not timely identify or effectively respond to consumer tastes and preferences, which could negatively affect our relationship with our members, the demand for our products and services, and our market share
- Availability and performance of our IT systems are vital to our business. Failure to successfully execute IT projects and have IT systems available to our business would adversely impact our operations
- We are subject to payment-related risks
- We might sell products that cause illness or injury to our members, harm to our reputation, and expose us to litigation
- If we do not successfully develop and maintain a relevant and comprehensive digital experience for our members, our results of operations could be adversely impacted
- Inability to attract, train and retain qualified employees could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations
- We may incur property, casualty or other losses not covered by our insurance
- We face strong competition from other retailers and warehouse club operators, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations
- General economic factors, domestically and internationally, may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations
- Fluctuations in foreign-exchange rates may adversely affect our results of operations