Costco Wholesale Corp
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+ FollowMarket Cap$464.61B
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Earnings Call Q4 2026
September 24, 2026 - AI Summary
Strong Q4 and FY momentum (core demand + broad-based categories)
- Q4 results: Net sales $93.87B (+11.2% YoY); comparable sales +9.4% (and +6.7% adjusted excluding gas price inflation and FX). Digitally-enabled comps +19.5% (+19.8% ex-FX). Traffic +3.3% worldwide; ticket +5.9% worldwide.
- Profit: Net income $2.998B (+12.3% YoY), EPS $6.75 (+12.4% YoY excluding the IEEPA tariff-refund benefit).
- Category strength: Non-food was highlighted as the highest performing major category, supporting confidence that demand remains resilient even where gas/FX affects headline comps.
Digital and ancillary businesses accelerating (incremental vs core)
- Digital: Total site/app traffic +30%; digitally enabled sales >$33B (+20%+) for FY. AI-driven search traffic is rising fast (triple-digit growth) and shows the highest conversion rate.
- Delivery marketplaces: Uber Eats expansion from 17 states to all U.S.; DoorDash expanded to the U.S.; Costco noted these tend to be mostly incremental with limited impact on core grocery warehouses.
- Pharmacy/gas/travel: Pharmacy sales nearly +20% (scripts double-digit growth; digital tools like Rx Pay Ahead). Gas comps were positive mid-30s and the business had a record year; travel also grew double digits in key categories.
Tariff refunds: beneficial but non-recurring—company reinvests into price
- Q4 tariff-related: Received $184M total ($174M refunds + $10M interest), described as just over 1/3 of total expected refunds.
- Accounting impact: Nonrecurring benefit +$0.15 per diluted share in Q4 (net of partial reinvestment).
- Reinvestment strategy: Majority of refund dollars were reinvested into member value via price reductions (examples cited included Kirkland walnuts, coffee, pepper, etc.).
- Outlook for 1Q27: Company said it has already received a similar amount in Q1 FY27 and expects recurring quarterly visibility/discussion since tariff impacts will continue to affect earnings temporarily.
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$410.59
60.8% downside
Current Fair Value
60.8% downsideOvervalued by 60.8% based on the discounted cash flow analysis.
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Share Statistics
| Market cap | $464.61 Billion |
|---|---|
| Enterprise Value | $449.06 Billion |
| Annual dividend | $5.71 |
| Dividend yield | 0.56% |
| Earnings per Share | $20.78 |
| Beta | 0.87 |
| Outstanding Shares | 443,975,000 |
Return
| Return on Equity | 25.77% |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets | 10.36% |
| Return on Invested Capital | 17.63% |
Valuation & Multiples
| P/E Ratio | 48.71 |
|---|---|
| PEG | 327.69 |
| Price to Sales | 1.53 |
| Price to Book Ratio | 13.08 |
| Enterprise Value to Revenue | 1.48 |
| Enterprise Value to EBIT | 56.5 |
| Enterprise Value to Net Income | 48 |
| Total Debt to Enterprise | 0.01 |
| Debt to Equity | 0.13 |
Revenue Sources
No data
Last Earnings Call
Report Date
September 24, 2026
EPS Estimate
$6.54
Consensus analyst estimateRevenue Estimate
$94.97 B
Consensus analyst estimateNext Earnings Call
Expected Date
December 10, 2026
EPS Estimate
$4.92
Consensus analyst estimateRevenue Estimate
$74.26 B
Consensus analyst estimateInstitutional Put/Call Ratio
Compares institutional put options with call options. At 26.80, the ratio is above 1, so institutions hold more puts than calls. That is a more cautious stance.
| Put/Call Ratio | 26.8000▲ 2561.83% |
|---|---|
| Total Calls | 4,000▼ 99.95% |
| Total Puts | 107,200▼ 98.79% |
Institutional Ownership
Holdings and activity of institutional investors.
| Ownership % | 4.99%▼ 68.55% |
|---|---|
| Total Invested | $20.08B▼ 93.42% |
| Investors Holding | 1,955▼ 2422.00% |
About Costco Wholesale Corp
341,000 employees
CEO: W. Craig Jelinek
Costco Wholesale Corporation, through its various operating subsidiaries, manages a global chain of membership-based retail warehouses. Its extensive presence spans numerous countries, including the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, th...