Bringing the fundamentals into focus…

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) fundamentals: overall 52/100 — StockQuotient

COST Consumer Defensive

Costco Wholesale Corporation

$942.25+0.70%

Price as of close on Oct 7, 2026

Basics

Sector: Consumer Defensive
Industry: Discount Stores
Country: United States
Market cap: 417.7B USD
Enterprise value: 394.0B USD
Full-time employees: 355,000

Overall health

Drawback: its shares are priced higher than most peers relative to what it earnspriced higher than peers for its earnings
Drawback: higher risk than most peers: its share price swings more than most peers’ (beta 0.87 vs a peer median of 0.40), though less than the overall market and less short-term liquidity (current ratio 1.07 vs a peer median of 1.51)higher risk: bigger price swings (beta 0.87 vs peers 0.40) and less liquidity (current ratio 1.07 vs peers 1.51)

Ranks #370 of 761 consumer defensive companies (top 49%)

See how it ranks against its peers

Worth knowing

Stock pay outran buybacks. Stock-based pay expense $2.5B vs $2.3B spent repurchasing shares over the 3 fiscal years to FY Aug 2025. Shares outstanding changed +0.2% from August 2022 to May 2026.
Over three fiscal years Costco Wholesale recorded $2.5B of stock-based pay expense and spent $2.3B repurchasing shares (repurchases can include shares withheld to cover employees' taxes). Repurchases were smaller than the stock pay, so they did little to offset new employee shares.Over three fiscal years Costco Wholesale recorded $2.5B of stock-based pay expense and spent $2.3B repurchasing shares. Repurchases were smaller than the stock pay, so they did little to offset new employee shares.
Annual revenue rose 5 years in a row. Fiscal-year revenue rose from $166.8B in FY Aug 2020 to $275.2B in FY Aug 2025.
Costco Wholesale's fiscal-year revenue rose in each of the five years to FY Aug 2025, from $166.8B to $275.2B.
Profit is backed by cash. Free cash flow is 100% of reported profit.
Costco Wholesale's free cash flow is 100% of its reported profit, so its earnings are turning into cash it can reinvest, pay out or use to reduce debt.
Swings more than its peers. Beta 0.87: swings more than most peers, though less than the market.
Costco Wholesale's shares have swung more with the market than most peers' (beta 0.87).

StockQuotient Score

52/ 100

Valuation

Is the price right?

20/100

Weak▼ 1 since Sep 30 close

3/3 inputs reported · High confidence

Since last quarter: No major changeValuation also moves with the share price every day.

Why it changed since the Sep 30, 2026 close: Score 21 → 20

Share price +3.5%-1

Each step re-scores the company against its peers as they were on Oct 1, 2026; the parts add up to the change. Price effects on EBITDA yield are approximate.

Why

Weaker than most peers on:

▼ EBITDA yield
▼ FCF yield
▼ Earnings yield

Compare with peers

Behind the score

Sector-normalized EBITDA, earnings, and free cash flow yields.

Earnings yield2.1%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026Reported value30% base weight · Z-score -0.83Sector median: 0.0467 · MAD: 0.0304

EBITDA yield3.4%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026Reported value50% base weight · Z-score -1.24Sector median: 0.0888 · MAD: 0.0439

Free cash flow yield2.1%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026 · operating cash flow − capital spendingReported value20% base weight · Z-score -0.97Sector median: 0.0627 · MAD: 0.0426

Other data (not scored)

Book yield8.1%

SEC filings · latest balance sheetReported valueInformational · 0% composite weightSector median: 0.5203 · MAD: 0.2698

Growth

Is it growing?

73/100

Moderate

3/3 inputs reported · High confidence

Since last quarter: ▲ Stronger

12-month revenue up 2.6%

Why

Stronger than most peers on:

▲ Revenue growth
▲ 3-yr revenue
▲ EPS growth

Compare with peers

Behind the score

Revenue and earnings-per-share growth over one year, and revenue growth over three years.

Earnings per share growth12.7%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026Reported value33% base weight · Z-score 0.44Sector median: 0.0150 · MAD: 0.2517

3-year revenue growth7.6%

SEC filings · 3 years to May 2026Reported value33% base weight · Z-score 0.84Sector median: 0.0368 · MAD: 0.0470

Revenue growth9.2%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026Reported value33% base weight · Z-score 1.10Sector median: 0.0278 · MAD: 0.0585

Profitability

Does it earn well?

90/100

Strong

3/3 inputs reported · High confidence

Since last quarter: No major change

Why

Stronger than most peers on:

▲ ROIC
▲ ROA

Compare with peers

Behind the score

Return on invested capital, operating margin, and return on assets.

Operating margin3.8%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026Reported value33% base weight · Z-score -0.74Sector median: 0.0758 · MAD: 0.0509

Return on assets10.2%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026Reported value33% base weight · Z-score 2.41Sector median: 0.0394 · MAD: 0.0261

Return on invested capital43.8%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026Outlier capped at sector 5th/95th percentile33% base weight · Z-score 5.35Sector median: 0.0757 · MAD: 0.0673

Other data (not scored)

Gross margin12.9%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026Reported valueInformational · 0% composite weightSector median: 0.3174 · MAD: 0.1267

Return on equity26.4%

SEC filings · 12 months to May 2026Reported valueInformational · 0% composite weightSector median: 0.0830 · MAD: 0.0674

Risk

Debt, liquidity, price swings

Higher

Higher relative risk

3/3 inputs reported · High confidence

Since last quarter: No major change

Why it changed since the Sep 30, 2026 close: Safety percentile 26 → 25

Peer companies moved-1

Each step re-scores the company against its peers as they were on Oct 1, 2026; the parts add up to the change. Price effects on EBITDA yield are approximate.

Why

Weaker than most peers on:

▼ Beta
▼ Current ratio

Compare with peers

Behind the score

Relative to sector peers: 0 = lower relative risk · 1 = moderate · 2 = higher. Based on leverage, beta and liquidity.

Beta0.87

Yahoo Finance · 5-year monthly beta vs the marketReported value33% base weight · Z-score -2.79Sector median: 0.4020 · MAD: 0.1680

Current ratio1.07×

SEC filings · latest balance sheetReported value33% base weight · Z-score -0.69Sector median: 1.5138 · MAD: 0.6358

Debt / equity0.17×

SEC filings · latest balance sheetReported value33% base weight · Z-score 0.71Sector median: 0.4234 · MAD: 0.3581

Valuation, growth and profitability scores: higher is better. Risk: 0 is lower, 2 is higher. Risk is a relative proxy, not a bankruptcy probability. Scores depend on available sector peers.

Latest filing: what changed

Quarter ended May 10, 2026 · filed Jun 3, 2026 · compared with the quarter ended Feb 15, 2026

No major changes

	Previous quarter	Latest quarter	Change
Revenue (12 months)	286.3B USD	293.6B USD	+2.6%
Net income (12 months)	8.5B USD	8.8B USD	+3.4%
Operating margin	3.8%	3.8%	+0.0 pts
Free cash flow (12 months)	9.1B USD	8.8B USD	−3.2%
Debt	5.8B USD	5.7B USD	−1.6%
Cash	17.4B USD	18.9B USD	+9.0%
Shares outstanding	443.7M	443.5M	−0.0%

From the company’s own SEC filings, as filed. Twelve-month figures roll forward one quarter at a time.

Industry valuation context

Sector: Consumer Defensive · 91 companies

Valuations in Consumer Defensive are within their usual range since 2016.

30% of months since 2016 were valued lower than now.
18% of companies are in the most expensive fifth of their own price-to-sales history.
Over 24 months, company values −4% and earnings +7% (medians): prices and earnings moved broadly together.
Median price-to-sales is −58% vs the whole market, against a usual −39%.

2016Shaded: most expensive fifth of its range2026

Shown for Consumer Defensive: too few Discount Stores companies have a long enough history of their own.

Financials

Fiscal years from SEC annual filings · change vs the prior year

Key ratios	FY Aug 2021	FY Aug 2022	FY Aug 2023	FY Aug 2024	FY Aug 2025	Change
Operating margin	3.4%	3.4%	3.3%	3.6%	3.8%	▲ 0.1 pts
Net margin	2.6%	2.6%	2.6%	2.9%	2.9%	▲ 0.0 pts
Return on assets (ROA)	8.4%	9.1%	9.1%	10.5%	10.5%	▼ 0.0 pts
Return on equity (ROE)	28.5%	28.3%	25.1%	31.2%	27.8%	▼ 3.4 pts
Free cash flow margin	2.7%	1.5%	2.8%	2.6%	2.8%	▲ 0.2 pts
Current ratio	1.00×	1.02×	1.07×	0.97×	1.03×	▲ 7.1%
Quick ratio	0.52×	0.46×	0.57×	0.44×	0.55×	▲ 24%
Debt to equity	0.43×	0.32×	0.26×	0.25×	0.20×	▼ 21%
Interest coverage	39.23×	49.32×	50.71×	54.94×	67.42×	▲ 23%

COST price history

Price history is added with the daily price update and will appear after the next one.

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