Costco (COST) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know

The latest trading session saw Costco (COST) ending at $1,033.59, denoting a +0.76% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.09%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.32%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.02%.Heading into today, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 3.15% over the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 13.17% and the S&P 500's gain of 13.05% in that time.Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Costco in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on May 29, 2025. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $4.25, reflecting a 12.43% increase from the same quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $63.14 billion, indicating a 7.9% upward movement from the same quarter last year.For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $17.96 per share and revenue of $274.79 billion, which would represent changes of +11.48% and +7.99%, respectively, from the prior year.Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Costco. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.05% higher. Costco is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Looking at valuation, Costco is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 57.12. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 22.55, so one might conclude that Costco is trading at a premium comparatively.Meanwhile, COST's PEG ratio is currently 6.1. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.73.The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 178, placing it within the bottom 28% of over 250 industries.The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.To follow COST in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.0% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks