Zacks Research Has Bullish Forecast for COST Q1 Earnings

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Costco Wholesale in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst S. Singh now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings per share of $4.23 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $4.21. 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 Q2 2026 earnings at $4.44 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.68 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $19.75 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.60 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.45 EPS.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $929.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $988.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $946.18.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

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.