Research Analysts Set Expectations for COST Q1 Earnings

Key Points

• DA Davidson forecasts that Costco Wholesale will earn $4.05 per share for Q1 2026, maintaining a "Neutral" rating and setting a price target of $1,000.00.
• Costco reported $5.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.1%.
• Insider trading reveals that executives have recently sold shares, notably EVP Russell D. Miller who sold 3,381 shares at an average price of $915.00.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Equities researchers at DA Davidson issued their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Costco Wholesale in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 1st. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker anticipates that the retailer will post earnings per share of $4.05 for the quarter. DA Davidson has a "Neutral" rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale's FY2026 earnings at $20.93 EPS.

COST has been the topic of a number of other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9%

COST stock opened at $917.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $954.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.03. The stock has a market cap of $406.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.38, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

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.

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