Zacks Research Predicts Higher Earnings for Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Costco Wholesale in a report released on Thursday, January 2nd. Zacks Research analyst S. Singh now expects that the retailer will post earnings of $4.02 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $4.00. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $17.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q3 2025 earnings at $4.25 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $5.89 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $17.98 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $4.21 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.39 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.66 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $6.41 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $19.68 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.52 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.00 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on COST. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $921.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $944.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $897.58. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $654.03 and a 52 week high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.00 billion, a PE ratio of 54.10, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,816 shares of company stock worth $6,981,347 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. One Wealth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Norway Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 3,707 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $765,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 9,986 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.