Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST)

84.48 +0.00  +0.00%  May 25, 11:00PM Go Pro
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Costco Wholesale Corporation Performance

Historical performance is a good guide for the future, but it is imperfect. Pay attention to a company's history, but be realistic about what you can project into the future.

5 Year Total Returns Performance

Returns from price appreciation only give a partial view of the returns to an investor. This total returns chart shows the returns to an investor from both price appreciation and dividends (dividends are assumed to be reinvested)

Returns 49.34%

1 Year Total Returns Performance Comparison

Here are Costco Wholesale Corporation's total returns compared to the market and some of its peers. High historical total returns are excellent - especially if you held the stock at the time - but returns can change direction quickly. To predict future performance, looking at the business is more important than looking at historic returns.

  • COST Total Returns
  • ^SPXTR Total Returns
  • WMT Total Returns
  • TGT Total Returns
1 month total returns YTD total returns 1 year total returns* 3 year total returns
COST -4.43% 2.02% 4.89% 82.92%
^SPXTR -5.89% 5.70% 1.18% 57.02%
WMT 11.39% 10.76% 22.65% 41.88%
TGT -0.56% 13.76% 19.43% 55.72%

* May differ from chart if one year ago today was not a trading day. Table uses the previous trading day as a base while chart uses the next trading day.

Fundamental Performance

Price vs Earnings

In the long run, the price and earnings of a company are correlated. If the two metrics are diverging, there should be a good reason why. Divergence without reason can signal danger or opportunity.

Price 49.34%
Earnings Per Share TTM 50.44%

Earnings Yield vs Dividend Yield

Yields show how much you are getting for the price you pay. For example, an earnings yield of 8% means that for every dollar you pay, you get 8 cents worth of current earnings. Take these numbers into account when buying to see if you are over-paying or getting a good deal.

Earnings Yield 4.06%
Dividend Yield 1.30%

Revenue and Earnings Growth

Revenues show how much the company is selling to customers, while net income is what remains for shareholders after the company pays its expenses. Revenue growth often persists over time, but net income is more fickle. Watch closely to see if revenue and income grow at similar rates.

Revenues TTM 93.40B
Net Income TTM 1.516B

Efficent Use of Assets

Profit margins show what percentage of every dollar of sales turns into earnings. Asset Uitlization shows how many dollars of sales a company gets for each dollar that the company invests in assets. Multiplying the two numbers together gives you Return on Assets which tells you approximately how efficiently the company invests money to earn more money.

Profit Margin 1.72%
Asset Utilization 3.428

Reinvestment Strategy

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) tells you how much income a company earned after investing $1 in its business. The Payout Ratio tells what percentage of the company's income it pays to shareholders instead of reinvesting in its own growth. Watch out for companies that pay out very little when their ROIC is low.

5 Year Average ROIC 0.1015
5 Year Average Payout Ratio 0.2463
Get Performance for

COST News

Dow Dividend Checkup: Wal-Mart
May 25, 1:40PM Fool
Goldman Sachs Maintains Costco Wholesale at Neutral, Raises PT from $90 to $93 $COST
about 4 days ago by johnkelly
Catching Up With Costco
May 24, 6:37PM Fool
RT @firstadopter: $COST call: we don't price shop Whole Foods (LOL!)
about 4 days ago by ppearlman
$COST this chart gives me upside conviction http://chart.ly/ftfvk4l
about 4 days ago by woowtrading
was long $luv & $cost for a little at market lows over the past few weeks. paying big now!
about 4 days ago by paulwickes3
Should I Buy Costco Stock? 3 Pros, 3 Cons
May 24, 12:33PM Investor Place
Buffett's Investing Secret
May 24, 11:49AM Fool
Dept/Dollar store nation leads way again. $WMT $TGT $KSS $DLTR $DG $COST $FDO $GPS $M $TJX $DDS - proud this is what country has turned to
about 4 days ago by mytfine
HIGH $CALL VOLU $AET 729% $SE 703% $GGB 449% $MTGE 343% $UNH 335% $HPQ 307% $PVH 290% $WLP 249% $TIF 176% $COST 175%
about 4 days ago by livevol_pro
Listen to $COST Q3 2012 earnings call - live at 11:00 AM, ondemand after - http://stks.co/3yPt
about 4 days ago by earningscast
Costco: Q3 Profit Up, Revenue Misses
May 24, 10:24AM Investor Place
$COST reporting today http://stks.co/3yLx
about 4 days ago by TradeIdeas1
Dollar stores and dept stores to the rescue, because global slowdowns will NOT effect the U.S. consumer at all. $M $KSS $DLTR $FDO $COST
about 4 days ago by mytfine
Earnings movers include: $P, $PVH, $HPQ, $FLO, $SNPS, $PDCO, $COST, $TD
about 4 days ago by 1973Hog
earning list for intraday plays: $TIF(short),$TTC (long),$HPQ(long), $P(long) , $PVH(long) , $HNZ(short) , $RUE(?) , $COST(?), $NTAP(short)
about 5 days ago by spectre009
$cost Major resistance at 85.20, room to run on upsdie it is can that level.
about 5 days ago by Spus
RT @retail_guru: No surprises in $COST #s consistency of model pays off. Selling margin slightly up as biz invested in price to win shoppers
about 5 days ago by ppearlman
Costco Reveals Mixed 3Q Results
May 24, 9:01AM Fox Business
Noteable earnings gappers Up include: $P $HPQ $PVH $FLO $COST
about 5 days ago by 1973Hog
$COST Mentioned more than normal on StockTwits - Currently at 2 x average daily social activity
about 5 days ago by TradeIdeasQuant
Costco up modestly after slight EPS beat - nothing to see here... expecting stock breakdown to continue $COST
about 5 days ago by MercenaryMike
Costco Sees Bulky Net Income Rise
May 24, 8:21AM Benzinga
Trouble of success in a way is is Costco almost never seems cheap & major earnings upside is unusual as invested back into offer. $COST
about 5 days ago by retail_guru
Costco retains multiple as consistent investment behind customer = solid comps, new store growth. Both rare in large-cap US #retail $COST
about 5 days ago by retail_guru
$COST $90 stock
about 5 days ago by johnkelly
Premarket movers. http://stks.co/3y88 $NTAP $TIF $HPQ $COST $SIG
about 5 days ago by TripleDTrader
Notable Option Preview with Earnings Due: $TIF, $COST, $TIVO, $CIEN http://stks.co/3y5t
about 5 days ago by MilionCapital
No surprises in Costco #s as consistency of model pays off. Selling margin only slightly up as biz invested in price to win shoppers $COST
about 5 days ago by retail_guru
Earnings Scheduled For May 24
May 24, 3:42AM Benzinga
Notable Option Preview with Earnings Due: $TIF, $COST, $TIVO, $CIEN http://stks.co/3xu2
about 5 days ago by MilionCapital
Notable Option Preview with Earnings Due: $TIF, $COST, $TIVO, $CIEN
about 5 days ago by MilionCapital
IV30(TM) GAINER $HPQ +21.58% $AMLN +21.27% $PBY +19.4% $EXPE +18.53% $COST +18.51% $GLW +18.4% $RHT +18.37% $DWA +17.46% $FLR +14.91%
about 5 days ago by livevol_pro
Targeting Sentiment
May 23, 2:50PM Fool
5 Reasons Not to Worry This Week
May 21, 8:21AM Fool
The Great Retail Fail
May 20, 8:07PM Fool
Recall news
May 17, 5:07PM
Wal-Mart is Still an Every Day Buy
May 17, 2:00PM Investor Place
Target Beats on Bottom Line
May 16, 12:30PM
Wedding Dresses For Less
May 15, 4:09PM
Earnings Preview: Target
May 15, 3:45PM
9 Solid Companies Increasing Dividends
May 14, 12:00PM Investor Place
UPDATE: ISI Group Upgrades Costco
May 10, 10:50AM Benzinga
Collars: Protective Options Strategies
May 08, 11:39AM Benzinga

Recent Quotes

Symbol Price Chg Chg % Market Cap
COST 84.48 +0.00 +0.00% 36.74B
CTIC 0.91 -0.01 -1.09% 206.22M
CTHR 3.89 +0.03 +0.78% 75.66M
CTGX 12.45 +0.16 +1.30% 230.70M
CTFO 4.55 -0.09 -1.94% 114.98M
CTEL 10.58 -0.19 -1.76% 408.92M
CTCT 20.58 +0.12 +0.59% 622.13M
CTCM 9.35 -0.10 -1.06% 1.471B
CTB 15.21 -0.25 -1.62% 947.58M
CTAS 37.31 -0.41 -1.09% 4.840B
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