Q3 EPS Forecast for Costco Wholesale Increased by Analyst

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Telsey Advisory Group upped their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, May 8th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now expects that the retailer will post earnings per share of $4.24 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $4.20. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a "Outperform" rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale's Q4 2025 earnings at $5.84 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $4.30 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.51 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.77 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $6.46 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $20.05 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ COST traded down $17.12 on Monday, hitting $999.03. 2,913,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,033,655. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $771.43 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $958.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $964.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $443.25 billion, a PE ratio of 58.66, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other 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.