COST — Costco Wholesale Corporation $935.47

Generated 2026-06-30 21:49

Quality Scorecard Transitional

C67/100
Pricing power (gross margin) 13% Gross margin 13% — thin margins
Return on equity 29% ROE 29% — high returns on capital
Leverage (net debt / EBITDA) net cash Net cash — $0.9B more cash than debt
Interest coverage 67x EBIT covers interest 67x — comfortably covered
Earnings consistency (revenue) 0/3 down 0 revenue-down year(s) in 3 — no down years
🟡 Earnings growth (net income YoY) +10% Net income +10% YoY — earnings roughly flat
Cash conversion (CFO/NI) 165% Operating cash ÷ net income 165% — earnings convert to cash
🟡 Operating margin trend flat Operating margin flat
Revenue growth 22% Revenue +22% — strong demand growth
🟡 Growth trajectory holding steady YoY +8% vs +6% prior 2-yr avg — holding steady
Free cash flow margin 3% FCF margin 3% — thin / negative
🟡 Returns capital to shareholders yes dividend ~62.0%; shares -0.1%/yr

Transitional-stage checklist (proxy metrics from yfinance). 12 of 12 criteria scored. Not financial advice.

Buy-Now Score

72/100
Quality ×40%67
Trajectory ×30%100
Valuation ×30%50

Comparative rank: 40% Quality + 30% Trajectory + 30% Valuation — higher = better buy now. Not financial advice.

Valuation

$291.84$1,191.23
Price $935.47DCF $324.27 (-65%)Analyst $1,082.94 (+16%)MarketGist fair $931.20 (-0%)

DCF: 7% start growth → 2.5%, 8.8% discount (band $242.35–$445.88). Analyst: 33 analysts. MarketGist fair = 80% analyst + 20% DCF. Not financial advice.

Key Trends (6-yr)

GAAP EPS
▲ +10.0% YoY
Sales
▲ +8.2% YoY
Shares Outstanding
▲ +0.0% YoY

Company Overview

Basic Information

Company Name: Costco Wholesale Corporation
Symbol: COST
Exchange: NMS
Sector: Consumer Defensive
Industry: Discount Stores

Company Details

Country: United States
City: Issaquah
Employees: 341,000
Market Cap: $414.86B

Business Description

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.

Key Metrics

Price & Valuation

Current Price
$935.47
Market Cap
$414.86B
P/E Ratio
47.06
Forward P/E
41.35
PEG Ratio
4.65
Price to Book
25.09

Profitability

Profit Margin: 3.01%
Operating Margin: 3.67%
Gross Margin: 12.88%
Return on Equity (ROE): 29.15%
Return on Assets (ROA): 8.67%
Revenue Growth: 21.50%

Financial Health

Current Ratio: 1.07
Quick Ratio: 0.56
Debt to Equity: 60.26
Total Debt: $10.23B
Total Cash: $11.13B
Beta: 0.87

Trading & Analyst Info

52-Week Range

52-Week High: $1.10K
52-Week Low: $844.06
50-Day Average: $996.15
200-Day Average: $957.62

Analyst Recommendations

Recommendation: BUY
Target Mean Price: $1.08K
Target High: $1.31K
Target Low: $740.00

Price graph

Price vs Rates, Inflation & Volume (long-term)

Dotted = market-implied expectation (next ~12 mo), not a prediction.

Quarterly Verdict

🟢 77/100

Worth buying

Quality grade C; 3 improving / 1 weakening metrics YoY.

➖ Pricing power (gross margin): Gross margin 13% — thin margins
➕ Return on equity: ROE 29% — high returns on capital
➕ Leverage (net debt / EBITDA): Net cash — $0.9B more cash than debt
➕ Interest coverage: EBIT covers interest 67x — comfortably covered
➕ Earnings consistency (revenue): 0 revenue-down year(s) in 3 — no down years
➕ Cash conversion (CFO/NI): Operating cash ÷ net income 165% — earnings convert to cash
➕ Revenue growth: Revenue +22% — strong demand growth
➖ Free cash flow margin: FCF margin 3% — thin / negative
➕ Revenue +11.6% YoY
➕ Net income +15.2% YoY
➖ Free cash flow -12.6% YoY
➕ Cash +36.9% YoY

Heuristic from the Quality Scorecard + quarter-over-quarter trends. Not financial advice.

Financial Statements

Income Statement (Annual)

Item2025-08-312024-08-312023-08-312022-08-312021-08-31
Tax Effect Of Unusual Items$21.08M$6.34M$7.51M$26.08MN/A
Tax Rate For Calcs$0.25$0.24$0.26$0.25N/A
Normalized EBITDA$13.31B$12.12B$10.70B$9.79BN/A
Total Unusual Items$84.00M$26.00M$29.00M$106.00MN/A
Total Unusual Items Excluding Goodwill$84.00M$26.00M$29.00M$106.00MN/A
Net Income From Continuing Operation Net Minority Interest$8.10B$7.37B$6.29B$5.84BN/A
Reconciled Depreciation$2.43B$2.24B$2.08B$1.90BN/A
Reconciled Cost Of Revenue$239.89B$222.36B$212.59B$199.38BN/A
EBITDA$13.40B$12.15B$10.72B$9.90BN/A
EBIT$10.97B$9.91B$8.65B$8.00BN/A
Net Interest Income$351.00M$429.00M$344.00M$-59.00MN/A
Interest Expense$154.00M$169.00M$160.00M$158.00MN/A
Interest Income$505.00M$533.00M$470.00M$61.00MN/A
Normalized Income$8.04B$7.35B$6.27B$5.76BN/A
Net Income From Continuing And Discontinued Operation$8.10B$7.37B$6.29B$5.84BN/A

Showing 15 of 44 rows

Balance Sheet (Annual)

Item2025-08-312024-08-312023-08-312022-08-312021-08-31
Ordinary Shares Number$443.24M$443.13M$442.79M$442.66MN/A
Share Issued$443.24M$443.13M$442.79M$442.66MN/A
Total Debt$8.17B$8.17B$8.88B$9.04BN/A
Tangible Book Value$29.16B$23.62B$25.06B$20.64BN/A
Invested Capital$34.88B$29.42B$31.52B$27.20BN/A
Working Capital$1.27B$-1.22B$2.30B$698.00MN/A
Net Tangible Assets$29.16B$23.62B$25.06B$20.64BN/A
Capital Lease Obligations$2.46B$2.38B$2.43B$2.48BN/A
Common Stock Equity$29.16B$23.62B$25.06B$20.64BN/A
Total Capitalization$34.88B$29.42B$30.43B$27.13BN/A
Total Equity Gross Minority Interest$29.16B$23.62B$25.06B$20.65BN/A
Minority Interest$0.00$0.00$0.00$5.00MN/A
Stockholders Equity$29.16B$23.62B$25.06B$20.64BN/A
Gains Losses Not Affecting Retained Earnings$-1.77B$-1.83B$-1.80B$-1.83BN/A
Other Equity Adjustments$-1.77B$-1.83B$-1.80B$-1.83BN/A

Showing 15 of 56 rows

Cash Flow Statement (Annual)

Item2025-08-312024-08-312023-08-312022-08-312021-08-31
Free Cash Flow$7.84B$6.63B$6.75B$3.50BN/A
Repurchase Of Capital Stock$-903.00M$-700.00M$-676.00M$-439.00MN/A
Repayment Of Debt$-1.11B$-2.13B$-1.30B$-986.00MN/A
Issuance Of Debt$816.00M$1.43B$917.00M$53.00MN/A
Capital Expenditure$-5.50B$-4.71B$-4.32B$-3.89BN/A
Interest Paid Supplemental Data$106.00M$129.00M$125.00M$145.00MN/A
Income Tax Paid Supplemental Data$2.92B$2.32B$2.23B$1.94BN/A
End Cash Position$14.16B$9.91B$13.70B$10.20BN/A
Beginning Cash Position$9.91B$13.70B$10.20B$11.26BN/A
Effect Of Exchange Rate Changes$6.00M$40.00M$15.00M$-249.00MN/A
Changes In Cash$4.25B$-3.83B$3.48B$-806.00MN/A
Financing Cash Flow$-3.77B$-10.76B$-2.61B$-4.28BN/A
Cash Flow From Continuing Financing Activities$-3.77B$-10.76B$-2.61B$-4.28BN/A
Net Other Financing Charges$-393.00M$-315.00M$-303.00M$-1.41BN/A
Cash Dividends Paid$-2.18B$-9.04B$-1.25B$-1.50BN/A

Showing 15 of 51 rows

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