COST

Costco Wholesale Corporation

NMS · Consumer Defensive

$896.48

-$8.22 (-0.91%)down -0.91%

24 September 2026 · delayed 15+ min

F

Quality score53.8 / 100

Cut-offs are the grader's own: 97+ for an A+, below 60 is an F.

Costco Wholesale Corporation earns a F on strong ROE (>20%) and positive free cash flow but high debt-to-equity ratio (>2.0) and MACD bearish (negative histogram). Consider alternatives with better risk/reward profiles.

Model stance WEAK HOLD Suggested position 4.0% · $400.00 IQInvest estimate
Adjusted for Moderate investors, Medium-term investors 4.0% suggested allocation Change these

These change the suggested position size and the stance, not the category scores. Amount is in dollars.

IQ-COST-20260924engine v1 · 7-category weighted scorecard

What it is worth, depending who you ask.

Today’s price against the year it has had and the targets analysts publish. Every marker is a reported figure, not a projection of ours.

Lowest analyst target

$740.00

52-week low

$844.06

Today's price

$896.48

Mean analyst target

$1,069.20

52-week high

$1,096.50

Highest analyst target

$1,315.00

COST trades 21% of the way up its 52-week range, between $844.06 and $1,096.50. The mean analyst target of $1,069.20 is 19.3% above today's price.

Today’s price 52-week range Analyst price targets

Scored categories

Financial healthStrong ROE (>20%); Positive free cash flow; High debt-to-equity ratio (>2.0) 80.023%

Profit margin

3.01%

Net profit per unit of revenue

thinWhat this means

Of every 100 units of revenue, this much survives as profit.

Thin margins leave little room for a bad year — typical of retail and airlines.

Operating margin

3.99%

Before interest and tax

thinWhat this means

Profit from operations, before interest and tax, per 100 of revenue.

Little cushion between operating costs and revenue.

Gross margin

12.88%

After the cost of goods only

lowWhat this means

What is left of revenue after only the direct cost of the product.

Costs of goods eat most of the revenue — normal in retail, distribution and hardware assembly.

Return on equity

29.15%

Profit per unit of shareholder capital

very strongWhat this means

Profit generated per unit of shareholder capital.

Rare when sustained — check whether debt is flattering it, since borrowing shrinks the equity denominator.

Return on assets

8.67%

Profit per unit of assets

strongWhat this means

Profit generated per unit of everything the company owns.

The assets are working hard.

Debt to equity

24.57

Borrowings against equity

conservativeWhat this means

Borrowings measured against shareholder capital.

Comfortably financed.

Current ratio

1.07

Short-term assets over short-term debts

adequateWhat this means

Short-term assets against short-term obligations.

Enough to cover near-term bills.

Quick ratio

0.56

As above, excluding inventory

adequateWhat this means

Short-term assets excluding inventory, against short-term debts.

Near-term obligations are roughly covered without selling inventory.

Revenue growth

11.60%

Year on year

growingWhat this means

Change in revenue against the same period last year.

A healthy expansion rate.

Earnings growth

15.20%

Year on year

strongWhat this means

Change in earnings against the same period last year.

Profit is compounding at a good clip.

Revenue

$207.43B

Trailing twelve months

Free cash flow

$6.95B

Cash left after capital spending

Operating cash flow

$15.00B

Cash from the business itself

Payout ratio

27.01%

Dividends as a share of earnings

conservativeWhat this means

The share of earnings paid out as dividends.

Comfortably covered, with room to keep raising it.

Growth & momentum11 measured figures 55.022%

Return, 1 month

-6.62%

Return, 3 months

-4.71%

Return, 6 months

-7.76%

Return, year to date

5.38%

Return, 1 year

-4.44%

Return, 3 years

65.29%

Sharpe ratio

0.66

Return earned per unit of risk

modestWhat this means

Return earned per unit of risk taken.

Below 1 is the common case; return did not strongly outpace the volatility.

Win rate

52.56%

Share of days that closed up

about evenWhat this means

The share of trading days that closed higher.

Close to a coin flip, which is the norm — returns come from the size of moves, not their count.

Average daily return

0.07%

Best day

7.26%

Worst day

-12.45%

ValuationHigh P/E ratio (45.0) - may be overvalued; High PEG ratio (4.43) 0.018%

P/E ratio

45.05

Price against trailing earnings

very highWhat this means

You pay 45.05 for every 1 unit of annual earnings.

Above 40 the price assumes growth that then has to actually arrive.

Forward P/E

39.63

Price against forecast earnings

highWhat this means

Price against next year's *forecast* earnings.

Even next year's expected earnings do not bring the multiple down much.

PEG ratio

4.43

P/E adjusted for growth

expensive for the growthWhat this means

P/E divided by the growth rate — it asks whether the price is justified by the growth.

Above 2 you pay more per unit of growth than the convention treats as reasonable.

Price to book

11.87

Price against balance-sheet equity

well above bookWhat this means

Price against the accounting value of the company's net assets.

Normal for asset-light businesses, where the value sits in brands and software the balance sheet never records.

Price to sales

1.35

Price against revenue

moderateWhat this means

Price against revenue — usable when a company has no profit yet.

A common range for a profitable, growing business.

EV / EBITDA

28.24

Whole-company value against cash earnings

highWhat this means

Whole-company value, debt included, against cash earnings.

Expensive even before interest, tax and depreciation are considered.

Enterprise value

$389.45B

Market value plus debt, minus cash — the price of the whole business

Shares outstanding

443,478,804

Shares the profit is split across

Dividend yield

0.65%

Annual dividend against price

modestWhat this means

Annual dividend as a percentage of the share price.

A small income component.

TechnicalRSI in healthy range (30-70); MACD bearish (negative histogram) 55.015%

RSI (14)

38.4

Above 70 overbought, below 30 oversold

neutralWhat this means

A 0–100 momentum gauge over the last 14 sessions.

The middle band, where most trading days sit.

MACD

-12.76

Momentum against its own trend

MACD histogram

-0.77

Positive is bullish

ADX

17.2

Trend strength; above 25 is a real trend

no clear trendWhat this means

Trend strength, regardless of direction.

Below about 20 the price is ranging rather than trending.

20-day average

$915.63

50-day average

$935.04

200-day average

$958.09

Price vs 50-day

-4.12%

Price vs 200-day

-6.43%

Bollinger upper

$954.08

Bollinger lower

$877.17

Average true range

14.12

Typical daily trading range

Stochastic %K

24.3

RiskModerate beta (market-like risk) 50.012%

Volatility, annualised

22.97%

How far it swings in a year

normalWhat this means

How far the price typically swings over a year.

A typical range for an individual share.

Beta

0.85

Moves against the wider market

market-likeWhat this means

How much the price moves relative to the wider market.

Moves roughly in step with the index.

Maximum drawdown

-31.40%

Worst peak-to-trough fall

significantWhat this means

The worst peak-to-trough fall in the period measured.

A serious decline, though not unusual over a multi-year window.

Risk category

Moderate

The engine's own banding

Analyst viewAnalyst consensus: Buy; Strong analyst coverage (35 analysts) 90.010%

Consensus

Buy

What covering analysts rate it

Analysts covering

35

Mean price target

$1,069.20

Highest target

$1,315.00

Lowest target

$740.00

Implied upside

19.27%

Target against today's price

meaningfulWhat this means

How far the mean analyst target sits above today's price.

Analysts see real room above today's price.

Price against the S&P 500

180 trading days to 2026-09-24

COST is 1.3% up over the window, against 10.9% up for the S&P 500 — behind by 9.7 points.
COST +1.3%S&P 500 +10.9%
Show the numbers
Sampled across the window. Both columns are rebased to 100 on 2026-01-06, so they can be compared directly.
DateCloseCOST rebasedS&P 500 rebased
2026-01-06$885.19100.0100.0
2026-01-28$956.56108.1100.5
2026-02-19$984.82111.398.8
2026-03-12$1,000.28113.096.1
2026-04-02$1,011.88114.394.8
2026-04-24$1,008.08113.9103.2
2026-05-15$1,047.28118.3106.7
2026-06-08$973.20109.9106.6
2026-06-30$933.98105.5108.0
2026-07-22$925.84104.6108.0
2026-08-12$949.58107.3111.6
2026-09-02$928.48104.9110.4

How the score was built

Each category is scored 0–100, then multiplied by its weight. The seven contributions sum to the quality score.
CategoryScoreWeightContribution
Financial health80.023%18.4
Growth & momentum55.022%12.1
Valuation0.018%0.0
Technical55.015%8.2
Risk50.012%6.0
Analyst view90.010%9.0
ESG50.00%0.0
Quality score100%53.8

ESG is scored but carries no weight in this grade. Add ?esg=1 to the address to include it — the engine then redistributes weight across the other six, so the whole scorecard changes, not just one row.

Argue with the model

Every other grader hands you a number. This one hands you the model.

Move a slider, press Recalculate, and the grade is rebuilt from the same category scores. Nothing is hidden: the scores are the engine's, only the weighting is yours.

What each model believes. Pick one above, or set your own sliders below.
ModelThe emphasis
IQInvest defaultThe engine's own weighting: financial health 23% and performance 22% lead, valuation 18%, then technicals, risk and analysts.
Value investorPrice against worth dominates: valuation 40%, financial health 25%. Chart signals count for almost nothing.
Growth investorMomentum first: performance 40% and technicals 20%. Whether the price is fair today gets just 5%.
Sleep at nightStability over everything: risk 35% and financial health 30% together outweigh all other categories combined.
ChartistThe tape over the fundamentals: technicals 45% and performance 25%. Valuation is nearly ignored.
18%
23%
22%
12%
15%
10%
0%

These are IQInvest's own weights, totalling 100%.

Your grade

F

53.8 / 100

Identical to the IQInvest grade.

All 66 metricsOne flat sortable table, for when you want everything at once.
Metric Category Value Source
Analysts coveringAnalyst view35Yahoo Finance
ConsensusAnalyst viewBuyYahoo Finance
Highest targetAnalyst view$1,315.00Yahoo Finance
Implied upsideAnalyst view19.27%Yahoo Finance
Lowest targetAnalyst view$740.00Yahoo Finance
Mean price targetAnalyst view$1,069.20Yahoo Finance
Current ratioFinancial health1.07Yahoo Finance
Debt to equityFinancial health24.57Yahoo Finance
Earnings growthFinancial health15.20%Yahoo Finance
Free cash flowFinancial health$6.95BYahoo Finance
Gross marginFinancial health12.88%Yahoo Finance
Operating cash flowFinancial health$15.00BYahoo Finance
Operating marginFinancial health3.99%Yahoo Finance
Payout ratioFinancial health27.01%Yahoo Finance
Profit marginFinancial health3.01%Yahoo Finance
Quick ratioFinancial health0.56Yahoo Finance
Return on assetsFinancial health8.67%Yahoo Finance
Return on equityFinancial health29.15%Yahoo Finance
RevenueFinancial health$207.43BYahoo Finance
Revenue growthFinancial health11.60%Yahoo Finance
Average daily returnGrowth & momentum0.07%Yahoo Finance
Best dayGrowth & momentum7.26%Yahoo Finance
Return, 1 monthGrowth & momentum-6.62%Yahoo Finance
Return, 1 yearGrowth & momentum-4.44%Yahoo Finance
Return, 3 monthsGrowth & momentum-4.71%Yahoo Finance
Return, 3 yearsGrowth & momentum65.29%Yahoo Finance
Return, 6 monthsGrowth & momentum-7.76%Yahoo Finance
Return, year to dateGrowth & momentum5.38%Yahoo Finance
Sharpe ratioGrowth & momentum0.66Yahoo Finance
Win rateGrowth & momentum52.56%Yahoo Finance
Worst dayGrowth & momentum-12.45%Yahoo Finance
52-week highMarket data$1,096.50Yahoo Finance
52-week lowMarket data$844.06Yahoo Finance
Average volumeMarket data2,198,776Yahoo Finance
Day highMarket data$909.43Yahoo Finance
Day lowMarket data$895.29Yahoo Finance
EmployeesMarket data341,000Yahoo Finance
OpenMarket data$908.81Yahoo Finance
Previous closeMarket data$904.70Yahoo Finance
VolumeMarket data2,831,452Yahoo Finance
BetaRisk0.85Yahoo Finance
Maximum drawdownRisk-31.40%Yahoo Finance
Risk categoryRiskModerateYahoo Finance
Volatility, annualisedRisk22.97%Yahoo Finance
20-day averageTechnical$915.63Yahoo Finance
200-day averageTechnical$958.09Yahoo Finance
50-day averageTechnical$935.04Yahoo Finance
ADXTechnical17.2Yahoo Finance
Average true rangeTechnical14.12Yahoo Finance
Bollinger lowerTechnical$877.17Yahoo Finance
Bollinger upperTechnical$954.08Yahoo Finance
MACDTechnical-12.76Yahoo Finance
MACD histogramTechnical-0.77Yahoo Finance
Price vs 200-dayTechnical-6.43%Yahoo Finance
Price vs 50-dayTechnical-4.12%Yahoo Finance
RSI (14)Technical38.4Yahoo Finance
Stochastic %KTechnical24.3Yahoo Finance
Dividend yieldValuation0.65%Yahoo Finance
Enterprise valueValuation$389.45BYahoo Finance
EV / EBITDAValuation28.24Yahoo Finance
Forward P/EValuation39.63Yahoo Finance
P/E ratioValuation45.05Yahoo Finance
PEG ratioValuation4.43Yahoo Finance
Price to bookValuation11.87Yahoo Finance
Price to salesValuation1.35Yahoo Finance
Shares outstandingValuation443,478,804Yahoo Finance
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