Why did Costco Wholesale (COST) stock move recently?

On 7/16/2026, Costco Wholesale moved +3.2% — No clear company-specific catalyst identified in today's coverage; the move appears to reflect broader positive sentiment around recent June sales results and the company's membership model supporting valuation. This is MarketChacha's decoded reason from filings and credible news; it is education, not buy/sell advice.

Is Costco Wholesale (COST) overvalued or fairly valued?

MarketChacha shows Costco Wholesale's valuation in context — a trailing P/E of about 48.8, a forward P/E of about 39.5, a price-to-book of about 11.8 — alongside its revenue and profit growth and whether reported profit converts into operating cash, so you can judge value for yourself. MarketChacha does not issue ratings, price targets, or buy/sell advice.

Does Costco Wholesale's reported profit turn into cash?

Over 3 years, operating cash flow fully covered reported profit — earnings are backed by real cash. MarketChacha computes this cash-conversion check (1.64×) from reported figures — education, not a rating.

What is Costco Wholesale's revenue?

Costco Wholesale reported revenue of $275.2B for FY2025, with net profit of $8.1B, per official filings.

What is the share price of Costco Wholesale (COST)?

Costco Wholesale last traded at $892.67 (-0.1% on the day), as of 9/17/2026 — a delayed quote shown for education, not investment advice.

Costco Wholesale

COST · NASDAQ · Retail · United States

Snapshot

TickerCOST

ExchangeNASDAQ

SectorRetail

IndustryDiscount Stores

CountryUnited States

Employees341,000

HeadquartersIssaquah, United States

Websitewww.costco.com

Filings tracked14

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. It offers merchandise, including sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, deli, liquor, and tobacco; non-food merchandise comprising appliances, small electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, lawn and garden, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal, automotive, stamps, tickets, apparel, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and fresh food, such as meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products. The company is also involved in warehouse ancillary operations, which include gasoline, pharmacies, optical, food courts, hearing-aid centers, and tire installation centers. In addition, it engages in e-commerce, business centers, travel, and other businesses. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.

Who owns it

Insiders0.2%
Institutions74.4%
Public & other25.4%

5,217 institutional holders

Ownership breakdown from public market data.

Top holders

Blackrock Inc.7.71%
Vanguard Capital Management LLC6.53%
State Street Corporation4.15%
Invesco Ltd.3.15%
Geode Capital Management, LLC2.40%
Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC2.35%
Morgan Stanley2.30%
Bank of America Corporation1.63%

Largest institutional holders — last updated 6/30/2026.

Forensic scorecard

No major accounting red flags in the fundamentals we have — profit is backed by cash and returns look healthy.

Cash conversion1.64×

Over 3 years, operating cash flow fully covered reported profit — earnings are backed by real cash.

Net margin trend2.6% → 2.9%

Margin has held broadly steady over the period — stable profitability.

Return on equity27.8%

Latest ROE of 27.8% — capital is generating a healthy return.

Growth qualityrev 7% · PAT 13%

Profit growth is broadly tracking revenue growth — the earnings trend looks operational rather than one-off.

Computed by MarketChacha from reported figures (SEC XBRL). Education, not a rating or recommendation.

What's expected next

Next quarter

Rev $73.3B · EPS 4.85

Est. earnings growth +7.1%

Next fiscal year

Rev $326.4B · EPS 22.67

Est. earnings growth +10.0%

Analyst consensus estimates — not the company's own guidance.

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Financials at a glance

Source: SEC XBRL

Annual

Quarterly · last 8

Revenue (FY2025)

$275.2B

Net margin

2.9%

ROE

27.8%

Revenue CAGR (2y)

+6.6%

Profit CAGR (2y)

+13.5%

EPS (FY2025)

18.21

Net profit (FY2025)

$8.1B

Ask MarketChacha about COST

Get a cited, plain-English answer — the “why”, not just data. Finance research only, never buy/sell advice.

Why it moved

Jul 16, 2026
No clear company-specific catalyst identified in today's coverage; the move appears to reflect broader positive sentiment around recent June sales results and the company's membership model supporting valuation.
source 1 ↗source 2 ↗· confidence: low
Jul 9, 2026
Costco shares fell after JPMorgan cut its price target to $1,100 (from $1,110) while maintaining an Overweight rating, with additional pressure from June comparable sales growth decelerating to 8.8%.
source 1 ↗source 2 ↗· confidence: high

Daily moves with the verified reason behind them. Education only — not investment advice.

Financials

Yearly

Period	Revenue	Net profit	EPS	Net margin	ROE
FY2025	$275.2B	$8.1B	18.21	2.9%	27.8%
FY2024	$254.5B	$7.4B	16.56	2.9%	31.2%
FY2023	$242.3B	$6.3B	14.16	2.6%	25.1%

Quarterly

Period	Revenue	Net profit	EPS	Net margin
2026Q2	$70.5B	$2.2B	4.93	3.1%
2026Q1	$69.6B	$2.0B	4.58	2.9%
2025Q4	$67.3B	$2.0B	4.50	3.0%
2025Q2	$63.2B	$1.9B	4.28	3.0%
2025Q1	$63.7B	$1.8B	4.02	2.8%
2024Q4	$62.2B	$1.8B	4.04	2.9%
2024Q2	$58.5B	$1.7B	3.78	2.9%
2024Q1	$58.4B	$1.7B	3.92	3.0%
2023Q4	$57.8B	$1.6B	3.58	2.7%
2023Q2	$53.6B	$1.3B	2.93	2.4%
2023Q1	$55.3B	$1.5B	3.30	2.7%

Figures as reported, in reporting currency. Source: SEC XBRL.

Filings & announcements

2026

8-K — Other events, Exhibits
SEC7/8/2026material
10-Q filing
SEC6/3/2026
8-K — Results of operations, Exhibits
SEC5/28/2026material
8-K — Other events, Exhibits
SEC4/15/2026material
10-Q filing
SEC3/11/2026
8-K — Results of operations, Exhibits
SEC3/5/2026material
8-K — Shareholder vote results, Other events
SEC1/21/2026material

2025

10-Q filing
SEC12/17/2025
8-K — Results of operations, Exhibits
SEC12/11/2025material
8-K — Executive/director change, Exhibits
SEC10/20/2025material
8-K — Other events, Exhibits
SEC10/15/2025material
10-K filing
SEC10/8/2025
8-K — Results of operations, Exhibits
SEC9/25/2025material
8-K — Executive/director change
SEC8/7/2025material

In the news

Education and discussion only — not investment advice. Financials from official filings (SEC/BSE) and reported company statements; market figures (delayed market data) are delayed and shown for reference only. Verify with the linked sources before acting.