COSTCONSUMER DEFENSIVEFree preview

Costco Wholesale Corp

Last close: $1065.29Last updated: Nov 5, 2026

COST

— Costco Wholesale Corp

INDUSTRY:DISCOUNT STORES
SECTOR:CONSUMER DEFENSIVE

Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only (needing a membership to shop there) big-box retail stores. As of 2020, Costco was the fifth largest retailer in the world, and the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016.

OVERALL AI RATING

43/100

NEUTRAL

82% confidence · 9 of 9 factors

Higher when more factors have data and they agree with each other.

Balanced outlook tempered by minor headwinds including premium pricing relative to fair value, with other metrics steady.

FUNDAMENTALS OUTLOOK

35

/100

Soft

-6% vs the model's 6-month fair value; ranks in the bottom 12% of mega caps by model upside.

Valuation against the model's 6-month target, reported financials, analyst consensus, and the earnings beat streak. P/E versus this company's own history is shown for reference.

Fair Value

38% of score

-6.3% vs fair value (12th pct of mega caps)

Fundamentals

15% of score

revenue +8%, margin 4%, FCF yield +2.1%

P/E vs History

informational · no weight

P/E 51.7 vs 38.5 avg (+1.4σ)

Analyst Consensus

10% of score

consensus

Earnings Beat Streak

4% of score

1 beat

SEASONALITY OUTLOOK

60

/100

Favorable

The seasonal model expects +3.4% over 90 days and +0.3% over 30 days.

The seasonal price model at both scored horizons.

Seasonal Forecast · 90d

25% of score

+3.4% expected

Seasonal Forecast · 30d

5% of score

+0.3% 30d

TECHNICAL OUTLOOK

50

/100

Neutral

Annualized volatility 27%. Chart signal reads Bearish (shown for reference, no weight in the score).

The volatility penalty. The chart classifier's short-horizon read is shown for reference but no longer weighs on the score.

Chart Signal

informational · no weight

-0.10

Volatility

4% of score

0.27 ann.

How the rating is built: each factor's weight × signal is its contribution. The contributions add up to a raw score from −100 to +100, and the overall score is 50 plus half that sum. A factor with no data counts as neutral, so it neither helps nor hurts.

Fair Value

38% of score

How far today's price sits from the model's 6-month fair value estimate, ranked against companies of similar size.

-6.3% vs fair value (12th pct of mega caps)

-28.8

Seasonal Forecast · 90d

25% of score

The seasonal price model projected 90 days out, as an expected return. It reads this stock's own price history and repeating calendar cycles — not company news, earnings, or business quality. Same model as the 30-day factor below, read at a longer horizon.

+3.4% expected

+5.6

Chart Signal

informational · no weight

A machine-learning classifier reading momentum and trend structure across daily and weekly price bars. Needs about 5 years of trading history. Shown for information only: it reads roughly five days ahead, shorter than the score's horizon, so it carries no weight in the AI Score.

-0.10

+0.0

Fundamentals

15% of score

Reported results, not projections: revenue growth, operating margin, and free cash flow measured against market value. Loss-making or cash-burning companies score negative here.

revenue +8%, margin 4%, FCF yield +2.1%

+3.8

P/E vs History

informational · no weight

Today's price-to-earnings against this company's own trailing average, in standard deviations. Needs positive earnings. Shown for information only: tested on ten years of history it did not improve the score, so it carries no weight.

P/E 51.7 vs 38.5 avg (+1.4σ)

+0.0

Analyst Consensus

10% of score

Wall Street consensus ratings, weighted by conviction.

consensus

+6.4

Seasonal Forecast · 30d

5% of score

The same seasonal price model as the 90-day factor above, read 30 days out. A near-term and a medium-term view of one forecast, which is why they can disagree.

+0.3% 30d

+0.2

Earnings Beat Streak

4% of score

How many quarters in a row this company has beaten analysts' earnings estimates. Four or more in a row counts fully; not beating the estimate last quarter counts against it.

1 beat

-1.9

Volatility

4% of score

An annualized volatility penalty. High volatility lowers the score; low volatility never raises it.

0.27 ann.

+0.0

Reader questions

Questions about COST

Is COST overvalued or undervalued right now?

As of Oct 2, 2026, ŷRobot's fair-value model estimates Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) at $997.83 against a last close of $1053.56, implying 5.3% downside to the model's estimate.

Is COST's chart signal bullish or bearish?

The chart-signal model classifies COST as Neutral as of Nov 6, 2026, with a signal score of -0.08 on a -1 to 1 scale.

What is COST's ŷRobot AI score?

COST scores 43 out of 100 on ŷRobot's AI composite, which measures how strongly the fair-value and chart models agree, as of Nov 6, 2026.

Is COST stock expensive on P/E and P/S?

COST trades at 43.8 times earnings and 1.3 times sales as of Nov 6, 2026.

What does COST's seasonal forecast show?

ŷRobot's seasonal forecast curve for COST reads +0.3% at 30 days, +3.2% at 90 days, and +8.7% at one year as of Nov 6, 2026. Seasonal tendencies are historical patterns, not predictions.

How fast is COST growing?

Costco Wholesale Corp's revenue growth is +7.6% and free-cash-flow growth is +12.9% on the latest reported figures.

Methodology & trust

What this is (and isn’t)

These outputs are generated by machine learning models trained on historical price, fundamental, and volume data. The models summarize historical data and current model outputs — they do not predict the future or constitute personalized investment advice. All figures are updated on a regular cadence and reflect the most recent available data at time of generation.

ŷRobot provides research and information, not personalized financial advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.