Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of COST Q3 Earnings

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research report issued on Wednesday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst S. Singh now expects that the retailer will earn $4.22 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $4.25. 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 2025 earnings at $5.88 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $17.94 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $6.40 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $4.83 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on COST. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Remove Ads

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $8.62 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $954.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,981,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,945,912. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $988.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $947.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,916,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.