Costco Q1 Sales Trends Offer Insight Into Holiday Season Strength

The latest sales data released by Costco Wholesale Corporation COST provides a valuable snapshot of consumer behavior at the beginning of the crucial holiday shopping season. The retailer’s performance through the 12-week first quarter of fiscal 2026 and the four-week retail month of November points to steady demand and consistent member engagement.Net sales for the 12-week first quarter ending Nov. 23, 2025, reached $65.98 billion, an 8.2% increase from the year-ago period sales of $60.99 billion. Total comparable sales for the quarter rose 6.4%, supported by gains of 5.9% in the United States, 6.5% in Canada, and 8.8% in Other International markets. These trends reflect broadly stable spending patterns ahead of peak holiday activity.November data reinforces this momentum. Net sales for the four weeks ended Nov. 30, 2025, were $23.64 billion, up 8.1% from last year’s sales of $21.87 billion. Comparable sales increased 6.9%, with the United States up 6%, Canada up 6.9%, and Other International up 11.4%. Digitally enabled sales rose 16.6% for the month and 20.5% for the quarter, highlighting strong adoption of online shopping as the holiday period intensifies.These results show that customer visits and spending remained healthy going into December. With early trends holding up well, Costco moved into its busiest weeks with a solid base of member activity.What the Latest Metrics Say About CostcoCostco, which competes with Dollar General Corporation DG and Target Corporation TGT, has seen its shares decline 9.4% in the past year against the industry’s growth of 0.5%. While shares of Dollar General have rallied 63.9%, those of Target have dropped 31.8% in the aforementioned period. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchFrom a valuation standpoint, Costco's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 43.72, higher than the industry’s ratio of 30.16. COST carries a Value Score of D. Costco is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 12.03) and Dollar General (19.73).  Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 10.3% and 11.1%, respectively.  Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchCostco currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Zacks Naming Top 10 Stocks for 2026Want to be tipped off early to our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2026? History suggests their performance could be sensational.From 2012 (when our Director of Research Sheraz Mian assumed responsibility for the portfolio) through November, 2025, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +2,530.8%, more than QUADRUPLING the S&P 500’s +570.3%.Now Sheraz is combing through 4,400 companies to handpick the best 10 tickers to buy and hold in 2026. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these stocks when they’re released on January 5. Be First to New Top 10 Stocks >>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 Target Corporation (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report Dollar General Corporation (DG): Free Stock Analysis 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