William Blair Analysts Increase Earnings Estimates for COST

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Equities research analysts at William Blair increased their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for Costco Wholesale in a report released on Wednesday, April 9th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now expects that the retailer will post earnings per share of $5.85 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $5.84. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s FY2026 earnings at $20.52 EPS.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during 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%.

COST has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $963.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $982.89 and its 200 day moving average is $949.47. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $702.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,632,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,088,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last ninety days. Company 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 dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. 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.