Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Stock Price & How to Invest

Costco Wholesale operates a membership-based warehouse club chain. Members pay an annual fee (currently $65 for basic Gold Star, $130 for Executive) for access to Costco warehouses, where they can buy products at lower markups than traditional retailers. Costco operates approximately 900 warehouses globally, with the largest concentration in the United States plus meaningful presence in Canada, Mexico, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and other markets.

The business model is unusually structured: Costco's gross margins on merchandise are low (typically around 11%, compared to 25%+ for traditional grocers), and most of the company's operating income comes from membership fees, which are essentially pure profit. This aligns Costco's incentives with members: the company makes money when members renew, which happens when members feel they're getting value. Renewal rates run near 90% worldwide and above 92% in the US and Canada. Founded in 1983 (current corporate form from a 1993 merger), headquartered in Issaquah, Washington. Ron Vachris has been CEO since 2024.

Fiscal 2026 (ended August 30, 2026) was another year of steady compounding. Revenue reached about $303 billion, up roughly 10% from about $275 billion, and net income rose to about $9.2 billion ($20.76 per share) from about $8.1 billion. In the 16-week fourth quarter revenue was about $95.7 billion and EPS of $6.75 beat the roughly $6.53 consensus; membership fee income rose 7.3% to about $1.85 billion, paid members reached 84.1 million, and paid Executive members grew 9.4% to 42.3 million (they account for more than 75% of sales). The new fiscal year started strongly: net sales for the five weeks ended October 4 rose 13% to about $30.0 billion, comparable sales grew 11.4%, and digitally enabled sales jumped 19%. The shares closed near $989.74 on October 16, 2026, up about 16% year to date and about 7% over the past year, for a market value near $439 billion. The next quarterly report is scheduled for December 10, 2026.

Costco's premium valuation (about 48x trailing and 40x forward earnings in October 2026) embeds high expectations for continued same-store sales growth and margin expansion. Any consumer slowdown or competitive pressure from BJ's, Sam's Club, or Amazon would compress the multiple. Worldwide renewal was 89.8% in the latest quarter, below the US and Canada figure, so slowing sign-ups or renewals as the international mix grows would hit the most profitable revenue line. An antitrust inquiry into beef pricing and cost inflation in some categories are also on watch.

36 analysts publish price targets on COST, averaging $1066.06 against a $989.11 price as of October 2026, or +7.8%. The published targets run from $770.00 to $1315.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 25 buy, 13 hold, 2 sell. Over the last six months there have been 2 raises and 6 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full COST forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Costco Wholesale Corporation. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Membership fee growth. Costco raised the Gold Star membership fee from $60 to $65 and Executive from $120 to $130 in 2024, the first increase in seven years. The most optimistic published target, $1315.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Costco's premium valuation (about 48x trailing and 40x forward earnings in October 2026) embeds high expectations for continued same-store sales growth and margin expansion. The most pessimistic target, $770.00, is roughly what COST is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on COST, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Costco Wholesale Corporation's investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (FY2026): ~$303 billion, up ~10% YoY; Q4 up ~11% YoY
• Operating margin: ~3.8% (low, by design; membership fees are the profit lever)
• Net income (FY2026): ~$9.2 billion
• EPS (FY2026): ~$20.76; Q4 $6.75 vs ~$6.53 consensus
• P/E: ~48x trailing, ~40x forward
• Dividend yield: ~0.6% ($1.47 quarterly), with periodic special dividends
• Membership: 84.1 million paid members; renewal 92.3% US and Canada, 89.8% worldwide; fee income ~$1.85 billion in Q4
• Market cap: ~$439 billion at ~$989.74 per share

Costco trades at one of the highest P/E ratios in retail, about 48x trailing earnings in mid-October 2026, on the strength of the durable membership model, consistent same-store sales growth (comparable sales up 11.4% in September), and the long runway for international expansion. The multiple has eased from earlier peaks as earnings grew faster than the share price. Analysts rate it a buy with an average target near $1,066, and the valuation has compressed historically only during severe market drawdowns.

If you want COST exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

These are the investment theses COST naturally fits into. Each links to a full theme guide listing every other stock that belongs and the ETFs commonly used as a passive proxy.

Other names that sit close to COST: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get COST exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (QQQ, VOOV, IVE), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so COST sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where COST fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Costco (COST) earns its profits from sticky annual membership fees rather than merchandise markup, aligning the company with 84 million paid members who renew at about 90% worldwide. In a portfolio it behaves as a premium-valued (about 48x trailing earnings in October 2026), relatively recession-resistant retail compounder, with periodic special dividends on top of a small regular one, that competes with Sam's Club, BJ's, Walmart, and Amazon.

Whether COST is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is COST a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the COST stock forecast.

For income investors, whether COST pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does COST pay a dividend? And to weigh COST against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: COST vs MSFT and COST vs TJX.