Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Key Takeaways Costco's China Executive Membership rollout beat expectations, with member activity above assumptions.Executive members drive 75% of global sales, shop more often and spend more per visit.With seven China warehouses, Costco sees room to expand fee income, frequency and loyalty. Costco Wholesale Corporation’s (COST - Free Report) China business is emerging as a promising catalyst for the next phase of membership growth. The company launched its Executive Membership program in China in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 and reported strong early adoption. Management said the rollout was ahead of expectations, with member activity exceeding initial assumptions. Executive members typically shop more often, spend more per visit and generate higher recurring membership income.

We note that the company’s global executive membership base reached 41.2 million at quarter-end, up 9.6% year over year. Executive members accounted for 75% of worldwide sales. Management noted that executive growth is being supported by both existing Gold Star members upgrading and new customers choosing the premium tier from the outset.

Management highlighted China alongside Japan and Korea as key international regions with immense growth potential for future warehouse development. The company currently operates seven warehouses in China. Costco has observed that new warehouse openings in China can produce outsized membership growth. Strong early adoption of the Executive Membership program signals that Chinese consumers are rapidly embracing higher-tier membership benefits.

As Costco expands its global real estate footprint with new warehouse openings, China offers a fresh runway for growth. If executive penetration continues to build as Costco opens more warehouses, China could become a larger contributor to fee income, shopping frequency and member loyalty.

What the Latest Metrics Say About CostcoCostco, which competes with Dollar General Corporation (DG - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , has seen its shares drop 8.3% over the past three months compared with the industry’s 2.7% decline. While shares of Dollar General have fallen 0.4%, those of Target have jumped 6.7% in the aforementioned period.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Costco's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 41.70, higher than the industry’s ratio of 30.64. However, the stock is trading below its 12-month median level of 46.1, indicating some moderation in valuation despite sustained investor confidence in the stock.

Costco is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 16.03) and Dollar General (15.67).

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 9.6% and 13.5%, respectively. For the next fiscal year, the consensus estimate indicates a 7.8% rise in sales and 10.2% growth in earnings.

The consensus estimates for earnings per share for both the current and next fiscal year have increased by 6 cents to $20.42 and $22.50, respectively, over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Costco currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Costco (COST 0.67%) shares hit their all-time high price of $1,094.32 in May. They have fallen 14% since then (as of July 20). Investors are hoping that the warehouse club operator can bounce back sooner rather than later.

Is $1,100 the next stop for this retail stock?

Image source: The Motley Fool.

The timing is unknown Shares would need to rise 17% to reach $1,100, which would establish a new record. Based on the stock's 126% trailing five-year return, this gain isn't out of the question. That's because this is a high-quality business with durable earnings growth.

The only unknown is timing. Shares could hit that price this year, next year, or after. No one has a clue.

Today's Change

(

-0.67

%) $

-6.27

Current Price

$

929.53

Investors shouldn't expect the stock to go straight up and to the right starting today. Shares can certainly fall in the near term. That's the volatile nature of the market.

The valuation is also a key variable to keep in mind. Costco stock is notoriously expensive. It trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.2. This reveals the market's lofty expectations.

Investors should think twice about buying shares right now, as waiting for a sizable pullback is the best course of action. At the end of the day, it's worth remembering that this is a company with strong fundamentals that should at least be on your watch list.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Here is a prediction I feel good about: Costco Wholesale (COST 0.63%) will join the $1 trillion club by 2033. The warehouse retailer is worth roughly $417 billion today, so to reach a 13-figure market cap, it will need to grow by just about 140%. That may sound ambitious for a company that sells rotisserie chickens and bulk packages of paper towels, but Costco has one of the most reliable growth machines in all of retail, and the math is more achievable than you might think.

The secret to Costco is that it barely makes a profit at the register from selling groceries and household goods. It makes its profits from selling memberships. The company now counts more than 40 million paid household memberships, with over 82 million cardholders in total, and a renewal rate above 92%, meaning almost everyone who joins stays. Membership fee income, which is nearly pure profit, keeps climbing, helped by a recent fee increase. That sticky recurring revenue is the closest thing retail has to a subscription business, and it is remarkably durable in any type of economy.

Image source: Getty Images.

Costco has plenty of room left to grow Costco is also far from finished with its expansion. It is opening new warehouses at a pace of more than 30 a year, backed by billions of dollars in annual investments, and management has laid out a five-to-10-year roadmap for continued growth across the U.S. and abroad.

Its e-commerce sales have climbed more than 20%, with artificial-intelligence-driven product recommendations lifting online spending. For a company this large to still be growing its store base and digital sales at a clip that healthy is exactly what it will take for it to reach a $1 trillion market cap.

Today's Change

(

-0.63

%) $

-5.86

Current Price

$

929.94

Why I could be wrong I will be honest about the risks here. Costco already trades at a rich valuation, well above that of a typical retailer, so a big chunk of its expected future success is arguably already priced into the stock. If that premium multiple compresses, the stock could grow more slowly than the business does, and the point at which it could pass the trillion-dollar milestone would slip further into the future.

Intensifying competition or economic weakness for consumers could also cool its growth pace. 

However, whether Costco crosses the $1 trillion mark in 2033 or a year or two later, the deeper point stands. This is one of the steadiest compounding machines in the market, powered by loyal members who happily pay to shop in its stores. I think that combination of dependable membership profits and a long runway of new warehouses will get it into the trillion-dollar club within the next several years. Own it for the compounding, not the exact date, and let one of retail's best business models do the heavy lifting.

Key Takeaways Costco expects to end fiscal 2026 with 940 warehouses, up from 914 at the year's start. Larger relocations, more parking and expanded gas stations aim to remove bottlenecks and add capacity. China, Korea, Japan and Europe support a five- to 10-year international expansion runway. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) continues to expand its physical footprint at a sustained pace of warehouse openings. The company is targeting more than 30 net-new locations annually, supported by a growing real estate pipeline across domestic and international markets. For fiscal 2026, Costco expects 26 net new openings, with two previously planned warehouses shifting into fiscal 2027 rather than being canceled.

Costco began fiscal 2026 with 914 warehouses and expects to finish the year with 940. Most of the fiscal-year openings are planned in the United States, where the warehouse count is estimated to reach 648, while Canada and other international markets also contribute.

The opportunity extends beyond simply entering new markets. Costco is relocating selected high-volume warehouses into larger facilities with more parking and expanded gas stations. These investments are intended to remove operational bottlenecks and create additional selling capacity.

International expansion provides another long runway. Management sees meaningful opportunities across China, Korea, Japan, Spain, France and the United Kingdom, while Canada’s development pipeline is already mapped out for several years. Costco expects strong international expansion to continue over the next five to 10 years, suggesting its warehouse growth strategy remains broad, deliberate and far from mature.

Costco currently operates 933 warehouses, including 641 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 115 in Canada, 43 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, three in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland and New Zealand.

What the Latest Metrics Say About CostcoCostco, which competes with Dollar General Corporation (DG - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , has seen its shares drop 6.4% over the past three months compared with the industry’s 2.5% decline. While shares of Dollar General have risen 1.3%, those of Target have jumped 5.7% in the aforementioned period.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Costco's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 42.27, higher than the industry’s ratio of 30.85. However, the stock is trading below its 12-month median level of 44.49, indicating some moderation in valuation despite sustained investor confidence in the stock.

Costco is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 16.23) and Dollar General (16.39).

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 9.6% and 13.5%, respectively. For the next fiscal year, the consensus estimate indicates a 7.8% rise in sales and 10.2% growth in earnings.

The consensus estimates for earnings per share for both the current and next fiscal year have increased by 6 cents to $20.42 and $22.50, respectively, over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Costco currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Costco (NASDAQ:COST | COST Price Prediction) has been one of the most crowded long trades in consumer retail for years. After a choppy first half of 2026, the question is whether the warehouse giant still has room to run.

My model says yes, but only modestly. Costco traded at $945.57 as of the last close, and the 24/7 Wall St. price target for Costco is $1,041.86, implying 10.18% upside over the next 12 months. The model’s rating is buy, and confidence is high at 90%.

Metric Value Current Price $945.57 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $1,041.86 Upside 10.18% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% What the Recent Price Action Is Telling Us Costco is up 9.96% year to date but has cooled recently, falling 4.17% over the past month after touching a 52-week high of $1,096.50. The 52-week low sits at $841.69, so shares trade in the upper half of that range.

In fiscal Q3 2026, Costco delivered EPS of $4.93 on revenue of $70.53 billion, up 11.6% year over year, with comparable sales up 9.8%, digital comps up 21.5%, and membership fee income of $1.373 billion. The worldwide renewal rate held at 89.7%.

Why Bulls See a Breakout Ahead The bull case rests on the flywheel. Membership fee income compounds above 10% annually, executive members represent 75% of net sales, and e-commerce traffic jumped 37% last quarter. Costco plans to end fiscal 2026 with roughly 940 warehouses, up from 914, and free cash flow reached $7.84 billion in fiscal 2025.

Consumer spending on food rose to $1,566.8 billion in May 2026 from $1,518.3 billion a year earlier, and Goldman Sachs calls out Costco as capturing outsized share through value offerings, operational leverage, and effective supplier negotiations. If digital growth holds above 20% and membership economics expand, our bull scenario pushes shares to $1,139.55, a 20.51% return.

What Could Go Wrong Costco trades at a trailing P/E of 46x and forward P/E of 41x, an unforgiving multiple if growth decelerates. Management flags tariff exposure, FX headwinds, and rising healthcare and wage costs as active risks.

Recent insider activity leaned toward selling, and 30-day sentiment slipped 13.44 points. The recent PEG of 4.518 reflects heavy reinvestment in Kirkland innovation, international warehouses, and digital infrastructure. The bear scenario limits downside to $956.56, essentially flat.

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How Costco Compares to Walmart and BJ’s Wholesale Walmart (NYSE:WMT) trades at $114.95 against an implied P/E of 42x and forward EPS of $2.94, with 86% of analysts bullish and quarterly earnings growth of 19.4%. Walmart is cheaper on forward earnings than Costco but grows earnings roughly half as fast, supporting Costco’s premium.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) is the closest pure-play comparison. BJ posted Q1 fiscal 2027 EPS of $1.10 on revenue of $5.66 billion with full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $4.40 to $4.60, digital comps up 28%, and a market cap of $11.88 billion. Membership fee growth of 9.9% trails Costco’s, and net income fell 4.7%. Against that field, our $1,041.86 target looks reasonable.

Costco Price Prediction 2026-2030 The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $1,041.86 and buy rating reflect durable membership economics, accelerating digital growth, and a resilient consumer backdrop. Valuation keeps me from pounding the table.

The setup improves if Costco pulls back toward the 200-day average near $956 or delivers another double-digit comp quarter. Risk rises if the multiple pushes above 50x on decelerating traffic. Confidence remains 90%, and the target still points higher.

Here is where our model projects Costco could trade, assuming steady mid-single-digit comp growth and consistent membership expansion.

Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $1,041.86 2027 $1,117.75 2028 $1,197.90 2029 $1,270.11 2030 $1,349.80 These projections assume Costco executes on warehouse expansion, membership growth, and Kirkland Signature innovation. Significant upside or downside could result from tariff policy shifts, consumer slowdown, or accelerating international rollout.

If You'd Bought Amazon When the Motley Fool Said To…In September 2002, Stock Advisor told subscribers to buy Amazon. In December 2004, Netflix. In April 2005, Nvidia. The newsletter still publishes two new stock picks every month — and over 23 years, has more than quadrupled the S&P 500. Here's how to get this month's picks:

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Five years from now, you'll probably wish you'd bought this month's picks. Don't miss them.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 20th, 2026

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,684,707 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,551 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.3% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.38% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,678,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,059.07.

Read Our Latest Research Report on COST

Costco Wholesale Price Performance Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $940.87 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $417.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.33, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.88. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,096.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $975.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $978.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.39 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.58%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Costco to $20.52 from $20.49, slightly above the Street consensus of $20.38, suggesting analysts still see modest earnings upside. Earnings forecast boost article Positive Sentiment: Costco remains a favorite dividend name, with its next ex-dividend date set for July 24, which may attract income-focused investors ahead of the payout. Dividend article Neutral Sentiment: A profile of a longtime Costco cashier who became a millionaire highlights the company’s employee retention and compensation culture, but it is unlikely to materially affect near-term fundamentals. Employee profile article Neutral Sentiment: Several local news items about new warehouses, gas stations, and remodels point to ongoing store expansion and reinvestment, but they are not major stock-moving catalysts by themselves. Negative Sentiment: MarketBeat said Costco’s June sales showed cooling comparable sales and weak international results, keeping the stock in “neutral” territory despite its premium valuation. Cooling comp sales article Negative Sentiment: Additional commentary from Zacks and Yahoo Finance argued Costco shares still look expensive after a strong multi-year run, reinforcing valuation concerns that can weigh on the stock. Valuation debate article About Costco Wholesale (Free Report)

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.

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July 2006 was just 20 years ago -- Tiger Woods won the British Open and Taylor Swift's debut album was still months away from being released. Were you investing then? If you invested $1,000 in Costco Wholesale (COST 0.50%) stock and kept it, then here's how you would have done.

Your $1,000 stake in the company would have grown to $17,790. If you'd invested that $1,000 in the S&P 500 index instead, you'd have ended up with $6,030.

Image source: Getty Images.

But hold on -- Costco is a dividend-paying stock, recently yielding 0.64%. That may not seem like much, but Costco also pays hefty "special" dividends every few years, most recently paying $15 per share in 2024.

What if you'd reinvested your dividends in more shares of Costco throughout your two decades of ownership? Well, then, your $1,000 would have grown to $26,130, while the total return of the S&P 500, including dividends, would be $8,832. This is a great reminder that reinvesting dividends is a solid wealth-boosting move.

Today's Change

(

-0.50

%) $

-4.77

Current Price

$

940.80

Should you invest in Costco now? Looking at various valuation metrics, the stock seems fairly valued to slightly overvalued these days. Its forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 41.7, a smidge above its five-year average of 41.6%. And its price-to-sales ratio was recently 1.4, above its five-year average of 1.2.

Lofty valuations can be reasonable when a company is growing briskly, and Costco is indeed growing. In its third quarter of fiscal 2026, revenue jumped 12%, while net income rose 15%.

Costco isn't a clear screaming bargain at current levels, but it is likely to keep growing over the coming years, rewarding shareholders. If you buy now and plan to hang on for years, if not decades, you'll likely do well. For a chance at greater gains and more of a margin of safety, you might wait for a lower price.

As space becomes scarce, the company is experimenting with new store formats.

Amazon (AMZN 0.78%) and Costco Wholesale (COST +2.85%) are both well known as sellers of consumer goods, but when it comes to its bottom line, Amazon is much more of a tech company than a retailer. That's because Amazon also has cloud operations, chip design and production, and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for other companies to utilize.

Given how much the AI trend has lifted many tech stocks over the last three years, it would be reasonable to assume that Amazon would have been a better-performing stock than Costco. That assumption proves to be correct, but anyone who invested $5,000 in both companies at the start of that period will probably find the difference between their two performances surprising.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

What a $5,000 investment in each looks like today Let's start by looking at these two companies' adjusted closing prices on July 14, 2023.

Stock

Adjusted Closing Price, July 14, 2023

Amazon

$134.68

Costco

$525.24

With fractional investing, a $5,000 investment on July 14, 2023, would get you around 37.1 shares of Amazon or 9.5 shares of Costco. Using the adjusted closing price on July 14, 2026, that initial investment in each company would be worth the following today:

Amazon: $9,186 Costco: $8,756 It may seem surprising that the investment in Amazon would not have yielded much more than a stake in Costco. That's not a knock on Costco, as I like the company for its recession-resistant business model, loyal customer base, and dividend payout, as well as the special dividends it pays from time to time. That said, looking to the next three years, I'd still rather own Amazon.

Today's Change

(

2.85

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26.14

Current Price

$

942.68

The opportunity is in the cloud Based on traditional valuation metrics, Amazon is currently cheaper than Costco. Amazon trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 29.2, while Costco's forward P/E is 41.1. That lower valuation, paired with the tech company's wider revenue growth opportunities, makes it look like a more favorable stock pick.

Amazon is the global leader in cloud computing infrastructure: Its Amazon Web Services (AWS) unit had a 28% market share as of the first quarter of 2026. Its next closest competitor was Microsoft, with its Azure platform accounting for 21% of the market.

Today's Change

(

-0.78

%) $

-2.00

Current Price

$

252.96

AWS generated $128.7 billion in revenue in 2025, and those sales should increase further in the years ahead thanks to AI. According to Goldman Sachs Research, overall cloud computing sales are expected to climb to $2 trillion by 2030, with 10% to 15% of that spending attributable to generative AI.

Amazon is also developing its own custom AI accelerator chips, which can further strengthen AWS by helping it to meet the needs of its customers at lower costs.

With that all said, it's also true that Amazon and other hyperscalers are spending unprecedented amounts to build out their AI infrastructure. To keep investors happy, capex spending needs to eventually show signs that it's boosting margins, unlocking more revenue, or ideally, both. But if Amazon continues to lead the cloud market and eventually shows that its AI infrastructure spending is delivering the expected returns on investment, its stock could generously reward long-term shareholders.

One of the more popular stocks in the retail industry also happens to be one of its more consistent dividend payers -- and dividend raisers. In April, Costco (COST +0.56%) declared a hike in its payout for the 22nd year in a row. Here's a look at what kind of position you'd need in the stock now to earn $1,000 annually in dividend payments.

Membership has its privileges The dividend raise lifted Costco's quarterly distribution to $1.47 per share. That equates to an annual payout of $5.88, so to reap that $1,000, you'd require 171 shares.

Image source: Getty Images.

There are more high-yielding retail stocks on the market, but Costco is a unique operator. Its stores are, of course, membership only, giving the company a strong foundation of semi-predictable revenue. It leverages this to undercut competitors with pricing.

Customers want to keep coming back for those savings. The company's latest renewal rate is an impressive 92%-plus in the U.S. and Canada, despite a membership fee increase that took effect in late 2024. Meanwhile, the worldwide figure isn't too far behind, at just under 90%.

Better, more folks want to sign up. Costco's membership rolls increased by almost 14% (to over 145 million) in the two-year stretch from the end of 2023 to New Year's Eve 2025.

Today's Change

(

0.56

%) $

5.21

Current Price

$

926.96

Downward pressures A rising membership count, combined with growing worries over the prices of basic household items, continues to boost Costco's financials. In 2025, the company notched all-time annual highs in both total sales ($275 billion) and headline net income (almost $8.1 billion).

Investors have recently been down on Costco stock. Its popularity drove it to an all-time high in mid-May, prompting many investors to sell to book profits. The company's subsequent third-quarter earnings report was mildly disappointing, as was its monthly sales update for June.

Even after that, Costco remains an expensive stock with a skinny dividend yield (0.6%). In my mind, though, it's necessary to pay a premium for quality; meanwhile, this solid performer should continue to post impressive growth numbers. I think it's unquestionably a buy, even at these lofty levels.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Costco (COST +1.11%) shares were down after the company reported monthly sales data.

*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of July 10, 2026. The video was published on July 12, 2026.

Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

Key Takeaways Costco's June net sales rose 10.6% to $29.24 billion, while comparable sales increased 8.8%.Digitally enabled comparable sales climbed 20.9%, reinforcing growth beyond Costco's warehouses.Costco trades at 41.30 times forward earnings, well above the industry's 30.05 multiple. Costco Wholesale Corporation's (COST - Free Report) valuation remains among the highest in the retail sector, leaving little room for operational missteps. That makes monthly sales updates closely monitored by investors. June's sales results once again highlighted resilient consumer demand, decent comparable sales growth and strong digital momentum, but are these trends enough to support the stock's premium multiple going forward?

A Closer Look at Costco's June SalesFor a retailer trading at a premium multiple, the quality and consistency of growth matter as much as the pace. Costco’s June report certainly provided encouraging evidence. Net sales increased 10.6% year over year to $29.24 billion during the five weeks ended July 5, 2026. Comparable sales rose 8.8% companywide, while adjusted comparable sales, excluding gasoline price and foreign exchange impacts, advanced 7%. Those figures point to broad-based demand rather than growth driven solely by external factors.

Although June comparable sales remained strong, they moderated from the 12.5% and 11.6% growth recorded in May and April, respectively. The sequential slowdown does not undermine Costco's performance, but it highlights the broad-based growth needed to support its premium valuation.

Digital performance remained another bright spot. Costco's digitally enabled comparable sales climbed 20.9% on a reported basis and 21.5% after adjusting for fuel and currency effects. Sustained online growth of this magnitude complements warehouse traffic and reinforces the company's ability to expand sales beyond its physical footprint without compromising its value proposition.

Do Costco’s Latest Metrics Justify Its Premium Valuation?Costco trades at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 41.30, well above the industry’s ratio of 30.05. The premium reflects investors' confidence in the company's membership-driven business model, recurring fee income, resilient sales growth and disciplined execution. Even so, the multiple remains below its 12-month median of 46.32, indicating that valuation has moderated from historical levels.

The premium is even more evident when compared with mass-merchandise retailers. Costco continues to command a meaningful premium over Dollar General Corporation (DG - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) . Costco is trading at a premium to Dollar General (forward 12-month P/E of 15.53) and Target (15.73).

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Why Has Costco Stock Pulled Back?Despite another month of resilient sales growth, Costco shares have dropped 6.5% over the past month, modestly underperforming the industry's 5.6% decline. The softness may be tied to the stock’s rich valuation rather than to any deterioration in underlying fundamentals. The moderation in June’s comparable sales growth from the stronger gains recorded in May and April may have also tempered investor enthusiasm.

Over the same period, shares of Dollar General have gained 2.2%, while Target has advanced 1.5%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

How Are Costco's Earnings Estimates Trending?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 9.6% and 13.3%, respectively. For the next fiscal year, the consensus estimate indicates a 7.9% rise in sales and 10.2% growth in earnings.

The consensus estimate for earnings per share for the current and next fiscal year has increased by 6 cents and 8 cents to $20.38 and $22.47, respectively, over the past 60 days. The upward revisions suggest that analysts remain confident in Costco's ability to deliver steady earnings growth.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Can Costco Continue to Command a Premium?Costco’s June sales once again reinforced the strength of its membership-driven business model, supported by healthy comparable sales growth and continued digital momentum. Improving earnings estimates further lend support. However, given its significant premium to the industry, Costco will need to sustain strong execution to justify its valuation and drive the stock higher.

Costco currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

What it means for the popular warehouse club to become a piece of common culture.

Costco (COST +0.36%) has never been a cheap stock. But premium businesses rarely are. The warehouse retailer has spent decades building one of the strongest business models in retail, and several long-term trends suggest it could continue rewarding shareholders well into the next decade.

Membership has its privileges The biggest advantage for Costco isn't bulk groceries or discounted televisions. It's membership. During fiscal 2025, Costco generated approximately $5.32 billion in membership fee revenue, up 10% from $4.83 billion the prior year. Even more impressive, its U.S. and Canada membership renewal rate clocked in at 92.3%, while its worldwide renewal rate was 89.8%. Those are among the highest retention rates of any subscription-based business and help explain why membership fees remain one of Costco's biggest competitive advantages.

Image source: Getty Images.

Costco's membership engine has continued to strengthen this year, too. During the third quarter of fiscal 2026, membership fee revenue climbed 10.7% year over year to $1.37 billion, outpacing overall sales growth. Paid memberships increased 4.1%, while executive memberships (the company's highest-spending customers) grew 9.6%. Worth noting: renewal rates also remained strong at 92.2% in the U.S. and Canada and 89.7% worldwide, reinforcing the stability of Costco's recurring revenue stream.

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That recurring revenue gives Costco tremendous flexibility. It can afford to sell merchandise at thinner margins than most retailers because memberships provide a reliable source of profit. That pricing advantage keeps customers coming back, creating a virtuous cycle that's difficult for competitors to replicate. Meanwhile, the company continues to expand quite rapidly.

Penetrating new markets Costco's physical footprint continues to expand alongside its membership base. As of the third quarter of fiscal 2026, the company operated 931 warehouses worldwide, including 639 in the United States and Puerto Rico. Management continues to see significant opportunity for new locations, too, particularly in international markets where warehouse clubs remain relatively underpenetrated.

Every new warehouse not only drives additional merchandise sales but also brings in thousands of new paying members, reinforcing Costco's recurring membership revenue model. At the same time, e-commerce is becoming a bigger contributor, too. For Q3 2026, the company reported digitally enabled comparable sales growth of 21.5%.

Balance sheet remains strong Costco's financial position remains one of its greatest strengths. During fiscal 2025, the company generated $13.3 billion in operating cash flow and ended the year with about $14 billion in cash and cash equivalents. That financial strength allows Costco to fund new warehouse openings, invest billions in distribution infrastructure and technology, raise its regular dividend, and continue returning capital to shareholders without placing significant strain on its balance sheet.

Of course, you can't ignore valuation. Costco trades at a premium earnings multiple compared to other retailers, leaving less room for disappointment if consumer spending weakens or growth slows.

Still, it's difficult to find many retailers with Costco's combination of recurring membership income, exceptionally loyal customers, consistent store expansion, and strong cash generation. Those advantages have allowed the company to grow through multiple economic cycles, and there's little reason to believe those competitive strengths will disappear before 2030.

Signage is seen at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 14, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

CompaniesWASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday paused a union lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from shutting down the top U.S. watchdog for consumer financial ​protection, agreeing to resume the case after lawmakers decide on the nomination of a ‌new director, court records showed.

The current agency leadership had said the nominee, Capital One (COF.N), opens new tab senior executive Brian Johnson, should be allowed to decide whether to pursue mass layoffs that the administration has for more than a year been battling ​in court to impose on the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a court ​filing.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

The pause pointed to a possible change of direction in the long-running ⁠legal drama as Johnson, a Republican former top CFPB official, prepares to take over from Russell ​Vought, President Donald Trump's budget director and acting head of the CFPB who had publicly vowed to ​abolish the agency.

In an order on Friday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said both sides must inform her within two days should the Senate confirm Johnson as director.

In light of a revised mass layoff plan unveiled in ​April, a federal appeals court last month agreed to allow Berman Jackson to consider lifting ​the preliminary injunction she imposed last year requiring the administration not to fire CFPB workers en masse while the courts ‌decide ⁠if this is legal. The order issued Friday pauses that process.

Under the April plan, the CFPB workforce would fall to 556 workers, less than a third of the agency's size when Trump took office, with 80% and 85% of positions eliminated in the divisions of enforcement and supervision respectively.

Both ​sides now agree that ​if confirmed Johnson should ⁠be able to review the new layoff plan and "decide whether he would like to pursue it," according to a joint motion that prompted Jackson's ​Friday order.

Congress created the CFPB following the 2008 financial crisis to prevent ​predatory lending ⁠and police consumer financial industries that generated many of the toxic products underpinning the crisis.

Trump and other top officials have called for the CFPB's outright elimination, accusing it of politicized enforcement and unduly burdening ⁠companies, ​something consumer advocates have rejected as an illegal giveaway to ​politically connected corporate actors that jeopardizes public welfare.

Vought, who took over as acting CFPB director last year, is legally required ​to step down at the start of August.

Reporting by Douglas Gillison in Washington, editing by Deepa Babington

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for new and old investors, and Zacks Premium offers many different ways to do both.

Featuring daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, the research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor.

It also includes access to the Zacks Style Scores.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.

Momentum ScoreMomentum traders and investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." This investing style is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Employing factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, the Momentum Style Score can indicate favorable times to build a position in high-momentum stocks.

VGM ScoreWhat if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank is a proprietary stock-rating model that harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to help investors build a successful portfolio.

Investors can count on the Zacks Rank's success, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988, more than double the S&P 500's performance. But the model rates a large number of stocks, and there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

You want to make sure you're buying stocks with the highest likelihood of success, and to do that, you'll need to pick stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you like a stock that only has a #3 (Hold) rank, it should also have Scores of A or B to guarantee as much upside potential as possible.

The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.

Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Costco (COST - Free Report) Based in Issaquah, WA, Costco Wholesale Corporation sells high volumes of food and general merchandise (including household products and appliances) at discounted prices through membership warehouses. It is one of the largest warehouse club operators in the United States. The company also operates e-commerce sites in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and China.

COST is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Additionally, the company could be a top pick for growth investors. COST has a Growth Style Score of A, forecasting year-over-year earnings growth of 13.3% for the current fiscal year.

Nine analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.06 to $20.38 per share. COST also boasts an average earnings surprise of +1%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Growth and VGM Style Scores, COST should be on investors' short list.

Membership-based wholesale retailer Costco Wholesale (COST 4.23%) reported sales for the retail month of June after the market closed on Wednesday, and at a glance, the numbers looked strong. Net sales rose 10.6% year over year to about $29.2 billion for the five weeks ended July 5. U.S. comparable sales, a measure of sales at warehouses open at least a year, climbed 10.6%. And digitally enabled comparable sales jumped nearly 21%. The company also declared its regular quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share.

And yet the stock fell about 4% as of this writing, slipping to about $913 and landing roughly 17% below its 52-week high.

So why would investors sell a report that, on its face, looks like more of the steady growth Costco is known for?

Image source: Getty Images.

Here's why Costco stock declined The answer is in the fine print. Strip out gasoline prices and foreign exchange, two things Costco doesn't really control and that can flatter or dent any single month, and June looks a good deal more ordinary. On that adjusted basis, U.S. comparable sales rose 7.6% year over year, and total company comparable sales rose 7%.

Much of the gap between the adjusted and reported figures came from higher gas prices during the period.

Seven percent is still a fine number. The problem is the trajectory. Costco's adjusted total company comparable sales ran 7.8% in April and 8% in May, so June's 7% is a step down rather than a step up. The U.S. told the same story: adjusted comparable sales there eased to 7.6% in June, down from 8.7% in May.

Of course, the business isn't faltering. Digitally enabled sales, adjusted for currency, actually accelerated to 21.5% in June. And membership, the recurring high-margin engine underneath everything Costco does, keeps renewing at rates most retailers can only envy. For the first 44 weeks of the fiscal year, adjusted comparable sales are running at a healthy 6.7%.

But Costco doesn't get graded on a normal retail curve. It gets graded against its own sky-high valuation.

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Why a good month wasn't good enough As of this writing, Costco trades at about 46 times earnings. That is rich for any retailer, though it is down from the mid-50s the stock commanded earlier this year. For context, the S&P 500 trades closer to 25 times.

Investors have long been willing to pay that premium for Costco's consistency and the recurring income from its membership fees, and understandably so. The problem, I think, is what the stock's valuation already prices in: years of uninterrupted mid-to-high single-digit comparable sales growth and steady profit gains, with no soft patches allowed.

So when a monthly update shows the underlying growth rate cooling, even a little, the reaction can look outsized next to the news. A 7% adjusted comp would be a triumph at most retailers. At Costco's valuation, however, it may not be enough to live up to investors' expectations.

The dividend, meanwhile, is a nice gesture. But at a yield of about 0.6% it was probably never the reason to own the stock.

So is this 4% dip a chance to buy one of the market's best businesses? I don't think so, at least not yet.

Costco stock has been stuck in the same spot for a while: a great company priced as if nothing ever slows down. June is a small reminder that growth ebbs and flows, even at a business this well run.

I wouldn't bet against the company. Costco keeps signing up members, keeps holding on to them, and keeps growing online sales. And a 4% pullback does make the stock a touch less expensive than it was on Tuesday. But a touch less expensive arguably isn't enough to make the stock a buy.

Ultimately, at about 46 times earnings, I'd want a wider margin of safety before putting new money to work. I'm content to wait on the sidelines for a price that leaves room for the occasional ordinary month. Shareholders who already own Costco, of course, have far less to worry about. This is a company worth holding for the long haul.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST, XETRA:CTO) shares fell about 4% to $913 on Wednesday after the warehouse retailer reported a moderation in June...

Costco fell victim to its own excellence.

Costco is facing a class-action lawsuit accusing the wholesale retailer of selling protein powders containing high levels of toxic metals – and misleading consumers by marketing the products as “good clean fuel.”

The proposed class action, filed earlier this week in federal court for the Western District of Washington, alleged Costco failed to disclose that its Orgain Organic Plant-Based Protein Powder contained significant levels of arsenic, cadmium and lead, which can have adverse health effects.

Plaintiffs are seeking punitive damages and a court order forcing Costco to disclose the presence of heavy metals – accusing the retailer of unfair trade practices and violating numerous state laws and saying it “knew or, at a minimum, should have known” about the metals.

The lawsuit focuses on Costco’s marketing of Orgain Organic Plant-Based Protein Powder. Orgain “Many consumers who buy and use protein powder do so routinely as part of a continuing focus on their fitness and health,” Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman, the Seattle-based law firm representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

“These same health-conscious consumers have unknowingly ingested alarming levels of toxic heavy metals – lead, cadmium and arsenic – again and again, trusting that Costco’s quality assurance would not allow something like this to happen.” 

Costco and Orgain did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday cited an investigation by the Clean Label Project and Consumer Reports, which found that Orgain’s Vanilla Bean protein powder exceeded its “level of concern” for lead.

Independent laboratory testing conducted by one of the plaintiffs and plaintiffs’ counsel confirmed the presence of heavy metals in Orgain’s Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Fudge powders, according to the suit.

Orgain has said its products are safe for daily use despite the Consumer Reports investigation, and their protein powders are not facing any recalls – currently being sold by Costco and other major retailers including Amazon, Target and Walmart.

There is no known safe level of exposure to heavy metals, and exposure can pose serious health risks, including cancers; liver, kidney and brain damage; reproductive disorders; skin disorders; and cardiovascular disease, according to the World Health Organization and US Food & Drug Administration.

The protein powder is not facing any recalls and is currently being sold by Costco and other major retailers. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect Yet Costco sold the product in stores and online without disclosing the presence of heavy metals, calling it “good clean fuel,” saying the powders have “quality ingredients and higher standards” and that Orgain is “relentless about quality,” according to the lawsuit.

The suit also alleged that consumers purchased the protein powders at a higher price – about $30 per container – because they believed they were purchasing a health supplement, and they would have opted for cheaper alternatives if they were made aware of the presence of toxic metals.

As the market for protein powders and other health supplements has exploded, so has the presence of toxic heavy metals in these products, according to the Consumer Reports investigation.

More than two-thirds of the 23 protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes tested by Consumer Reports contained more lead than food safety experts said would be safe to consume in a day – some by more than 10 times.

The move also follows a price-target cut from JPMorgan analyst Christopher Horvers, who maintained an Overweight rating on Costco but lowered the firm’s price target from $1,110 to $1,100.

Costco Wholesale stock is among today’s weakest performers. Why are COST shares down? What’s Driving Costco’s Recent Sales Growth?Costco said net sales reached $29.24 billion for the five weeks ended July 5, 2026, up 10.6% from the same period last year, with U.S. comparable sales also up 10.6% and Canada comps up 3.7%. For the first 44 weeks of the fiscal year, net sales totaled $250.43 billion, up 10.1%, though management flagged gasoline price deflation and foreign exchange as headwinds.

Costco’s regional split is also part of the read-through, with U.S. comps up 10.6% versus Canada at 3.7%, reinforcing that FX and local demand differences can matter even when the headline growth rate looks clean. That unevenness can amplify positioning moves when the stock is already trading heavy.

Critical Price Levels To Watch For COSTFrom a trend perspective, Costco is below its key moving averages, trading 4.7% under the 20-day SMA ($955.46), 7.7% below the 50-day SMA ($987.00), and 4.8% below the 200-day SMA ($956.93). The 20-day SMA sitting below the 50-day SMA keeps the near-term setup bearish, even though the longer-term "golden cross" (50-day above 200-day) that formed in March is still technically intact.

For momentum, MACD is below its signal line with a negative histogram, which typically means upside pressure is fading unless buyers can push the stock back above that baseline. Put simply: when MACD is under its signal line, rallies tend to lose steam faster, so bulls usually want to see that relationship flip before leaning in.

Key Resistance: $970.00 — a round-number area that also sits near the 50-day EMA ($972.88), where rebounds can stall Key Support: $908.50 — a nearby pivot zone just under the current price that can act as a "line in the sand" for dip buyers Costco’s Benzinga Edge Rankings ExplainedBelow is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for Costco Wholesale, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared to the broader market:

The Verdict: Costco Wholesale’s Benzinga Edge signal reveals a quality-led profile with weak near-term momentum and only middling value support. For longer-term bulls, that often means waiting for momentum to stabilize (or key support to hold) before treating dips as higher-conviction entries.

COST Stock Price Activity on ThursdayCOST Stock Price Activity: Costco Wholesale shares were down 4.46% at $910.64 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Andrew Yoon
Director of Financial Planning & Investor Relations

Hello. I'm Andrew Yoon, Director of Finance and Investor Relations, and I will review our sales results for the 5-week retail month of June, which started on Monday, June 1, and ended on Sunday, July 5. This period is compared to the 5 weeks that began last year on Monday, June 2, and ended on Sunday, July 6.

This call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results and/or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those outlined in today's call and sales release as well as other risks identified from time to time in the company's public statements and reports filed with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company does not undertake to update them, except as required by law. Comparable sales and comparable sales, excluding all gasoline sales and the impact of foreign exchange are intended as supplemental information and are not a substitute for net sales presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

As reported in our release, net sales for the month came in at $29.24 billion, an increase of 10.6% from $26.44 billion last year. Reported comparable sales for the month were as follows: U.S., 10.6%; Canada, 3.7%; Other International, 4.7%; total company, 8.8%; digitally enabled 20.9%. Comparable sales for the month, excluding the impacts of changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange were as follows: U.S., 7.6%; Canada, 4.9%; Other International, 5.6%; total company, 7.0%; digitally enabled 21.5%.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) reported strong June sales after Wednesday’s closing bell, extending its steady growth trend across key markets.

COST stock is moving. See the chart and price action here. Net sales reached $29.24 billion for the five weeks ended July 5, 2026, marking a 10.6% year-over-year increase. Costco said the performance reflects resilient consumer demand and continued traffic gains, particularly in core U.S. operations.

U.S. comparable sales rose 10.6%, signaling consistent strength in both discretionary and staple categories. Canada delivered more modest growth, with comparable sales up 3.7%, suggesting regional variation tied to currency and consumer spending patterns.

For the first 44 weeks of the fiscal year, net sales totaled $250.43 billion, up 10.1%. Gasoline price deflation and foreign exchange pressures had some impact, though underlying demand trends remained solid.

COST Technicals & Price ActionCostco stock is currently positioned below key moving averages, indicating a bearish trend in the short term. The 20-day SMA is below the 50-day SMA, which suggests that momentum is leaning negative, and traders should be cautious about entering new long positions.

The RSI is currently at 37.92, which is considered neutral but leans towards oversold territory after dipping below 30 on June 30, 2026. This level indicates there may be a potential for a bounce back if buying interest returns.

MACD is above its signal line, suggesting some bullish momentum is present despite the overall bearish trend. Traders might see this as a potential opportunity to watch for a reversal if other indicators align.

COST Stock Price Activity: Costco Wholesale shares were down 1.06% at $943 during after-hours trading on Wednesday, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Over the past month, COST has declined about 2.6% versus a 0.3% rise in the S&P 500 and is up roughly 9% year-to-date compared to the index’s 8.7% gain.

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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Costco (NASDAQ:COST | COST Price Prediction) keeps quietly compounding while the stock market debates AI and rate cuts. Membership fees hit $1.37 billion last quarter, worldwide renewals sit at 89.7%, and comparable sales just accelerated to 9.8%.

Cost stock trades at $950.25, up 10.51% year to date but still 3.18% below where it traded a year ago. Can this stock double to $1,900 by 2032?

Why Costco Shares Are Stuck Despite Accelerating Fundamentals The business is firing, and the stock has done nothing for a year. Costco is down 2.22% over the past month and roughly flat over the last week at 0.38%. Shares peaked near $1,096.50 before rolling over.

The issue is valuation. A trailing P/E of 48 on a consumer defensive name with a beta of 0.872 leaves little cushion when growth expectations reset. The composite prediction sentiment score sits at 53.68, down 9.1 points over 30 days. Tariffs, FX volatility, and rising labor costs keep resurfacing in filings. None of that breaks the story. It just caps the multiple until earnings catch up.

Wall Street Sees Modest Upside. The Long Game Is Bigger The analyst consensus target is $1,082.94, split across 3 Strong Buy, 19 Buy, 13 Hold, 1 Sell, and 1 Strong Sell ratings. Our base case model lands at $1,037.96 with 9.23% upside, and confidence sits at 90%. The bull case tops out at $1,137.96, the bear at $953.83.

Wall Street is anchored to a 12-month window. Analyst bullishness sits at 59%, and earnings acceleration is running at 0.455 year over year. Stretch that six years out and the picture changes materially. Consensus is calibrated for 2026, but 2032 requires a different lens.

The Path to $1,900 Per Share Reaching $1,900 from today’s price of $950.25 would require a gain of 99.9%. That is a clean double.

With forward EPS of $21.69, a price of $1,900 implies a forward P/E of 88x. Our base case of $1,037.96 already implies 48x, meaning the bold target requires roughly 40x of additional multiple expansion unless EPS grows into the number. If Costco compounds EPS at a low double-digit pace through 2032, the forward P/E at $1,900 compresses back toward today’s multiple.

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Costco didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Net income grew 15.19% in Q3, membership fee income keeps expanding at 10.7% to 14%, and digitally-enabled comp sales are running 21.5% higher. COO Ron Vachris put the international runway plainly: “We feel very good about the future from ’27 on in our international markets as we continue to see performance both in Asia and Europe to be very strong.”

Warehouse expansion is targeting 30+ new openings per year, and the 247Factor adjustment lands at 1.082. The primary risk is a demand shock that stalls comp sales and forces multiple compression before EPS catches up.

Where Costco Trades Today vs Its Earnings Power At $950.25 against forward EPS of $21.69, Costco trades at a forward P/E of 44x. That is expensive by any historical retail standard, but this is a business with 29.1% return on equity and 21.5% quarterly revenue growth.

Shares sit between a 52-week low of $841.69 and high of $1,096.50. Over the past decade, the stock delivered a 580.09% total return. Doubling from here by 2032 is a slower pace than that.

Is $1,900 Realistic? To reach $1,900 by 2032, Costco needs a gain of 99.9% from today’s price. That is a stretch, but not a fantasy.

Three things need to go right: EPS compounds at a low double-digit rate, international expansion delivers on the 30-warehouse-per-year target, and the forward multiple holds above 40x while earnings grow into it. A prolonged consumer downturn that breaks the comp sales streak derails it. We’ve outlined the blueprint for how Costco could reach $1,900 in 2032.

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Costco didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Douglas Elliman to redesign itself as a technology-forward enterprise, resetting its cost structure through enterprise-wide AI implementation to create a leaner, more efficient operating model

Elius, a newly launched intelligence company to be built with Google Cloud's technology, designed to leverage Douglas Elliman's proprietary luxury data for sharper pricing intelligence, enhance agent advisor productivity, and enable new businesses beyond brokerage

, /PRNewswire/ -- Douglas Elliman Inc. (NYSE: DOUG) (together with its subsidiaries, "Douglas Elliman" or the "Company"), the nation's preeminent brand in luxury real estate, operating through Douglas Elliman Realty and Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, today announced the launch of a company-wide technology infrastructure transformation to support the Company's evolution into a technology-forward enterprise. The effort is designed to fundamentally change how Douglas Elliman operates to improve efficiency, enhance the agent advisor and client experience, and reshape its long-term cost structure.

The Company also announced the launch of Elius, a newly formed intelligence company positioned to build proprietary real estate intelligence capabilities beyond traditional brokerage. Elius is designed to power a new generation of intelligent real estate experiences, products, and services that move beyond today's search and portal-based models by anticipating opportunities, surfacing insights earlier, and delivering guidance that today's static platforms cannot.

The transformation follows two parallel tracks to reset Douglas Elliman's non-commission-based cost structure across business units while building a proprietary intelligence business under the name Elius. Both tracks are enabled by Google Cloud technology, including its AI models and enterprise infrastructure, which the Company has selected to power its transformation.

TRACK 1: REDESIGN BROKERAGE OPERATIONS AND IMPROVE COST STRUCTURE

Douglas Elliman currently operates a fragmented technology environment spanning many systems and vendors across its business functions.

Through agentic AI-enabled automation powered by Google Cloud technology, Douglas Elliman expects to simplify operations, improve productivity and scalability, and achieve significant savings in non-commission operating expenses over the next three years through technology consolidation, workflow modernization, and workforce productivity improvements.

TRACK 2: INTRODUCING ELIUS

For decades, the value created by residential real estate data has accrued to the third-party platforms and portals rather than the brokerages that create the data.

Elius is designed to do what the brokerage industry has never done: take Douglas Elliman's private luxury real estate data — one of its most valuable and least monetized assets — and leverage it to build a proprietary intelligence platform with the potential to generate new products, revenue streams, and businesses, creating a format for consuming real estate intelligence outside of traditional brokerage that does not exist today. As the industry evolves beyond today's static and linear search experience, Elius will be designed to deliver dynamic, continuously learning intelligence that will change how consumers and businesses engage with real estate.

Douglas Elliman generates enormous volumes of data today through live market signals and real-time transaction activity from its agent advisors and clients at the very top of the market. Using Google Cloud technology, Elius is being structured to transform Douglas Elliman's market intelligence into a proprietary intelligence asset that compounds in value over time, while securing that intelligence behind a security layer that protects clients' confidential information and is resistant to indiscriminate AI scraping, preserving its value.

Over time, those capabilities are expected to reshape the real estate experience through intelligent products, services, and experiences that move beyond today's search- and portal-based models, fundamentally changing how consumers and businesses discover, evaluate, transact in, and interact with real estate.

"The next era of this business will be defined by intelligence," said Michael S. Liebowitz, President and Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Elliman Inc. "For generations, residential real estate has been organized around the transaction — and for just as long, the data that real estate transactions generate has been monetized by nearly everyone except the brokerages that create it. We are changing that model and taking it back."

He continued, "Elius will launch as a new business that will be designed to utilize our most valuable and underappreciated assets — our current, future, and historical proprietary data of the industry's premier luxury network — to create opportunities for new products, revenue streams, and businesses beyond brokerage. We believe this has the potential to create a materially larger addressable market, stronger and more durable economics, and a fundamentally different future for our stockholders, agent advisors, and staff."

DOUGLAS ELLIMAN ACCELERATES REAL ESTATE AI WITH GOOGLE CLOUD

By choosing to build Elius on the Google Cloud platform, Douglas Elliman paired its premier luxury brand and proprietary data with the capabilities of one of the world's leading data and AI enterprises.

The Company selected Google Cloud's technology to support the long-term commercialization of its proprietary real estate intelligence. Douglas Elliman's proprietary data remains the Company's own, and the custom AI capabilities, workflows, agents, and other intellectual property developed for Elius using Google Cloud and Gemini will be Douglas Elliman-owned assets.

"AI is creating opportunities to fundamentally reshape how industries operate, and residential real estate remains one of the largest and most valuable markets in the world. It also requires specialty expertise," said Will Grannis, Chief Technology Officer, Google Cloud. "Bringing that foundation together with Google Cloud's AI and enterprise cloud infrastructure presents transformative opportunities for Douglas Elliman's new business, innovation, and value creation."

ELIUS ACROSS THE BUSINESS

Douglas Elliman Realty
Elius is expected to help agent advisors automate routine workflows, surface real-time pricing and market insights, accelerate lead generation and client matching, and deliver a more informed client experience. These tools will help free agent advisors to focus on the relationships and judgment that define the brokerage's competitive advantage.

Douglas Elliman Development Marketing
Douglas Elliman Development Marketing (DEDM), with an active project pipeline exceeding $27 billion in gross transaction value as of the end of the first quarter of 2026, is expected to serve as an early deployment opportunity for Elius, with potential applications in pricing strategy, market intelligence, buyer targeting, and absorption forecasting.

Elliman Global
Elliman Global is expected to use Elius to support cross-border business, localization, and expansion across key global luxury markets.

A DISCIPLINED, SELF-FUNDED PURSUIT
Douglas Elliman is pursuing this transformation with no long-term debt and over $100 million in cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash, as of March 31, 2026. The Company expects to fund the initial Google Cloud rollout and Elius discovery and development work through existing resources, with a modest net incremental investment, as a substantial portion of the spending replaces existing technology expenditures. As legacy platforms are retired and the technology stack is consolidated, the Company's net transition costs are expected to decline as it realizes efficiencies from a more streamlined technology environment. Douglas Elliman is investing in proprietary data and the custom AI agents, workflows, and platforms that it believes will create value for its stockholders over the long term.

About Douglas Elliman Inc.
Douglas Elliman Inc. (NYSE: DOUG) owns Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC, which is one of the largest residential brokerage companies in the United States with operations in New York City, Long Island, the Hamptons, Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, California, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. In addition, Douglas Elliman provides other real estate services, including development marketing and mortgage as well as settlement and escrow services in select markets, and uses as well as invests in early-stage, disruptive property technology solutions and companies. Additional information concerning Douglas Elliman is available on its website, investors.elliman.com.

Investors and others should note that we may post information about Douglas Elliman on our website at investors.elliman.com or, if applicable, on our accounts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, YouTube or other social media platforms. It is possible that the postings or releases could include information deemed to be material information. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media and others interested in Douglas Elliman to review the information we post on our website at investors.elliman.com and on our social media accounts.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical or current facts made in this press release are forward-looking. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding anticipated capabilities, anticipated cost reductions, anticipated future operating expenses, timeline for development, advisor productivity improvements, technology development, international expansion, potential strategic alternatives, future products, services and revenue opportunities, the creation of new value through Elius, and financial projections. We identify forward-looking statements in this press release by using words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may be," "continue," "could," "potential," "objective," "plan," "seek," "predict," "project" and "will be" and similar words or phrases or their negatives. Forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Actual results could differ materially for a variety of reasons.

The anticipated cost reductions represent management's expectation over a three-year period commencing Q3 2026 and is not a guarantee of future performance or that any such expense reductions will be realized. The development of Elius is in early stages; actual product capabilities, timelines, and deployment scope may differ materially from current expectations. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ significantly from our current expectations are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed thereafter. We undertake no responsibility to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Douglas Elliman