Costco Wholesale Corp · Variety Stores

COST

Low riskNext report: Around Dec 10 (est.)

View price ↗

The short version

A high-quality, profitable business with growing sales.

Going well

Sales up 12% in the latest quarter vs a year ago
Profitable every year for 10 years
Brings in more cash than it spends

Money moves

Insiders sold $3.8M in the last 30 days
Institutions added 4.1% to their holdings in the quarter ending June 2026 (1848 bought, 1849 sold)
Held by Ray Dalio (Bridgewater)

Facts from SEC filings, not a recommendation.

What the price means

Price as of Oct 26

$1,005.11+0.2% that day

Company value: $445.4B; Share price times all shares
Price vs profit (P/E): 55.0x; You pay about $55 for each $1 of yearly profit
Price vs sales: 1.6x; Company value is 1.6 times a year of sales
Dividend yield: 0.5%; Yearly dividend as a share of today's price
Cash vs value: 4%; Cash as a share of company value
Debt vs value: 1%; Debt as a share of company value

From COST's last IEX trade and its SEC filings (profits and sales over the last four quarters). A starting point for research, not a verdict.

The business over time

Last 12 quarters, from SEC filings

Sales, May '26

$70.5B+11% vs a year earlier

Nov '22Tap a barMay '26

Last 12 months: $270.6B, up 11% from the 12 months before. Over 5 years, sales grew about 11% a year.

What the price assumes

Your guesses, our math

Move the sliders to your own view of COST. Starting points are the company's recent numbers.

Sales growth+11% a yearRecently: +11% a yearProfit margin3%Last 12 months: 3.0%P/E at the end40xToday: 55.0x. Many steady companies trade at 12x to 25xShare count change0% a yearBelow zero means buybacks; above zero means new shares (dilution)

Sales in 5 years$456.0B

Profit in 5 years$13.7B

Price these guesses point to$1,234.96+23% vs $1,005.11 todayAbout +4.2% a year, before dividends

What today's price needs: with a 3% margin and a 40x P/E, sales would have to grow about 6.5% a year for 5 years just to match today's price.

Simple math on your guesses, not a forecast or a price target. Real results depend on many things these sliders leave out.

Price

Price chart by TradingView.

Business quality

The checklist Warren Buffett-style investors use. Annual numbers for 2025.

5/6Strong

PassReturn on equity 15%+Earns a lot on the money owners have in the business.29.6%
PassDebt under half of equityNot relying on borrowed money.0.19x equity
MissNet margin 10%+Keeps at least 10 cents of profit from each dollar of sales.2.9%
PassProfitable every yearSteady profits, not one good year.10 of 10 years
PassFree cash flow positiveBrings in more cash than it spends to run and grow.$7.8B
PassShare count not growingNot diluting owners. Falling means buybacks.0.0% in 3 years

Revenue: $275.2B; +8.2% vs prior year
5-year growth: +10.5%/yr; revenue, per year
Total debt: $5.7B; 0.19x equity
Current ratio: 1.04x; short-term assets / bills due

From annual reports filed with the SEC. Not in this company's SEC data, so not scored: gross margin 40%+. A checklist is a starting point for research, not a verdict.

Latest quarter

Quarter ended May 10, 2026

Reported Sep 24

Revenue: $70.5B; +11.6% YoY
EPS: $4.93; vs $4.28
Op. margin: 4.0%; 0.0 pts
Gross margin: 12.8%; -0.2 pts
Free cash flow: $2.0B
Share count: -0.1%; vs a year ago

Insider rating

Last 90 days

21Selling

3 insiders sold $3.8M (not pre-planned)

50 is neutral. Buying by more insiders, top executives and bigger stakes raises it. Selling lowers it; pre-planned sales count less.

Weekly insider trend

13 weeks agoBoughtSoldThis week

Filing buzz

Last 7 days vs normal

90/ 100

This week: 15
Normal week: 1.7
vs normal: 8.8x

SEC filings of any kind. 50 means a normal week.

Institutional ownership

Steady+4.1%

Institutions added 4.1% to their holdings. 1848 bought, 1849 sold.

Shares held by institutions323.5M

Sep '24Jun '26

Safety check

From SEC filings

Share count growthYearly rate, last 3 years

0.0%

Cash runwayAt last year's cash burn

Cash flow positive

Debt to equityLatest balance sheet: debt compared with what owners have

0.2x · $6.2B debt

Shares outstandingLatest reported

443M

Earnings reports

Last 12

Next reportAround Dec 10 (est.)Estimated from the same quarter last year

Results filedSep 24
Results filedMay 28
Results filedMar 5
Results filedDec 11, 2025
Results filedSep 25, 2025

Flags and big holders

Offerings 6 months, flags 12 months, holders 90 days

No offerings, red flags or new big holders. Clean record.

Insider trades

Open-market buys and sells, last 90 days

Bought$00 insiders

Sold$3.8M3 insiders, 0 pre-planned

Insider	Trade	Shares	Avg price	Value	Owns after	Date
William Richard WilcoxExecutive Vice President	Sell	1K	$958.21	$1.1M	3K	Oct 13Filing ↗
-26.2% of their holdings Not a pre-planned sale Filed 1 day after
Caton FratesSr. Executive Vice President	Sell	801	$915.93	$733K	8K	Sep 29Filing ↗
-9.2% of their holdings Not a pre-planned sale Filed 1 day after
Claudine AdamoExecutive Vice President	Sell	2K	$915.93	$2.0M	7K	Sep 29Filing ↗
-23.6% of their holdings Not a pre-planned sale Filed 1 day after

"Owns after" is the insider's holding right after the trade. Pre-planned (10b5-1) sales are set up months ahead, a weaker signal.

Latest filings

Straight from SEC EDGAR

Stock awardJavier PolitExecutive Vice President

4,129 shares

+41% of holdings
Now owns 14,319 shares
Filed 5 days after trade
Also: Shares withheld for taxes