What is William Blair’s Estimate for COST Q1 Earnings?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – William Blair issued their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 3rd. William Blair analyst P. Blee forecasts that the retailer will post earnings per share of $4.33 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q2 2026 earnings at $4.46 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.76 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $6.47 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently commented on COST. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,046.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $464.70 billion, a PE ratio of 61.47, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $984.45 and its 200-day moving average is $939.83.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Costco Wholesale

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.