Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) is a Consumer Defensive company in the Discount Stores industry with a 76% Buy Score. Key strengths include Revenue Growth (21.5%), Return on Equity (29.2%). The score on this page is a five-factor screen — revenue growth, gross margin, net margin, return on equity and debt-to-equity — each scored against fixed thresholds from a neutral starting point of 50%. The eight-section analysis, including moat, free cash flow, dilution and valuation, runs in the full report.
This analysis is generated by StrongBuyAnalytics AI using publicly available financial data from SEC filings, earnings reports, and market feeds. It is not personalized investment advice. See our methodology and disclaimer.
3 of the inputs in our model moved COST's score away from the neutral baseline of 50%, landing it at 76% (Buy). Each one below is a specific figure from Costco Wholesale Corporation's reported financials, not a judgement call:
4 data points sit outside the score itself but bear on Costco Wholesale Corporation's next few quarters. They are reported here as observations, not predictions:
Compared against the Discount Stores companies we cover, topped up with the closest Consumer Defensive names by market capitalisation.
2 measurable risks showed up in Costco Wholesale Corporation's numbers. This is not a complete list of what could go wrong — only what is visible in the data we score:
Costco Wholesale Corporation's liquidity and cash generation as of the most recent filing — note the cash position of $11.13B against $10.23B of debt:
Figures are drawn from Costco Wholesale Corporation's most recent balance sheet and cash flow statement as filed with the SEC. See the filings themselves.
Institutional investment managers with >$100 M in qualifying assets must disclose their equity positions quarterly on SEC Form 13F — typically within 45 days of quarter-end. Search those filings below to see which hedge funds, mutual funds, and asset managers reported COST as a holding, how many shares they held, and how positions changed quarter over quarter.
We do not answer that question for you, and we do not publish buy or sell calls. What we publish is a score: COST rates 76% on our five-factor fundamentals screen, which puts it in the "Buy" band. Everything below explains how it got there so you can disagree with it.
Costco Wholesale Corporation clears our thresholds on most of what we measure. The strongest readings are revenue growth (21.5%) and return on equity (29.2%). Nothing in the data we score currently works against it.
Costco Wholesale Corporation reported revenue growth of 21.5% year over year, against a Discount Stores peer set where scale and pricing power vary widely. Growth at that level is the single largest positive contributor to the COST score.
Earnings grew 45.5% over the same period, outpacing revenue — a sign of operating leverage.
Track upcoming report dates on our earnings calendar.
This is a fundamentals outlook, not a price target — we do not publish one. It describes what Costco Wholesale Corporation's current financials imply about the next three to twelve months if the trends in them hold.
Constructive: Revenue growth of 21.5% gives COST room to grow into its multiple. The main thing to watch over the next few quarters is whether those figures hold; the score is built on trailing data and will move if they do not.
These are the Costco Wholesale Corporation figures that push the score up, taken straight from the most recent reported financials:
See how every metric on this COST page — quality score, valuation, DCF scenarios, confidence, and data limitations — fits into a professional research report.
Generate My Free COST ReportGuides to the specific measures used in this COST analysis:
How the financial statements behind this page fit together.
Understanding P/E RatioWhat COST's 47.5x multiple does and does not tell you.
Return on Equity (ROE)Why COST's 29.2% return on equity matters for stock selection.
Stock Valuation MethodsHow DCF, multiples and asset-based approaches value a company like Costco Wholesale Corporation.
How to Read Earnings ReportsWhere the COST growth and margin figures on this page come from.
What Are Demand Zones?The technical side we deliberately keep out of the COST score.
Latest SEC filings for COST explained in plain English — insider buys/sells (Form 4), proposed sales (Form 144), material events (8-K), and quarterly & annual reports.
