What is Zacks Research’s Estimate for COST FY2026 Earnings?

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) – Zacks Research lowered their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note issued on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the retailer will post earnings per share of $19.95 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $20.11. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q4 2026 earnings at $6.36 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $6.96 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.87 EPS.

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $936.11 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $948.46 and a 200-day moving average of $971.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,692,035,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,364,888,000 after buying an additional 1,377,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after buying an additional 711,560 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.