Telsey Advisory Group Has Positive View of COST Q1 Earnings

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) – Analysts at Telsey Advisory Group boosted their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report issued on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings per share of $4.30 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $4.29. Telsey Advisory Group has a “Outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q2 2026 earnings at $4.51 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.84 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $20.12 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.73 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $5.01 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $5.39 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $7.00 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $22.14 EPS.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on COST. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $925.63 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $954.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.40. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $410.50 billion, a PE ratio of 50.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.