Costco (COST) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know

Costco (COST) ended the recent trading session at $998.12, demonstrating a +1.23% change from the preceding day's closing price. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.77%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.76%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.05%.

Shares of the warehouse club operator have appreciated by 0.85% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 6.07%, and the S&P 500's loss of 0.98%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Costco in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on March 5, 2026. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $4.53, signifying a 12.69% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $69.22 billion, up 8.62% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $20.18 per share and revenue of $297.16 billion. These totals would mark changes of +12.17% and +7.97%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Costco. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.16% increase. Costco is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Costco is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 48.87. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 28.34.

Also, we should mention that COST has a PEG ratio of 5.2. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. COST's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.01 as of yesterday's close.

The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 25, positioning it in the top 11% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.