What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for COST Q1 Earnings?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Costco Wholesale in a report released on Wednesday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst S. Singh now forecasts that the retailer will post earnings per share of $4.23 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $4.21. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q2 2026 earnings at $4.44 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.68 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $19.75 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.60 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $21.45 EPS.

COST has been the subject of several other reports. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $929.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $988.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $946.54. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.