Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Estimate for COST Earnings

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research report issued on Wednesday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst S. Singh now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings of $4.22 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $4.25. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q4 2025 earnings at $5.88 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $17.94 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $6.40 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $4.83 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on COST. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $954.40 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $423.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $988.26 and its 200 day moving average is $947.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,245,000. Trust Co of the South grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 601 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 1,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $1,085,000. Finally, Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $1,223,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.