Costco (COST) Price on Solana

Costco's fiscal fourth-quarter results came in ahead of Wall Street estimates. Excluding a tariff-related benefit, the company earned about \$6.60 per share against a consensus of \$6.53, and total revenue reached \$95.72 billion against an expected \$94.86 billion. Diluted EPS including the benefit was \$6.75. Net sales rose 11.2% year over year to \$93.9 billion. Total comparable sales grew 9.4%, or 6.7% excluding gasoline and currency effects, and digital comparable sales rose 19.5%. Membership fee income increased to \$1.85 billion from \$1.72 billion. Paid members rose 3.8% to 84.1 million, and the U.S./Canada renewal rate edged up to 92.3%.

Goldman Sachs analyst Kate McShane kept a buy rating on the shares but trimmed her price target to \$1,134 from \$1,159, CNBC reported. That target still implies about 26% upside from Thursday's close of \$896.48. McShane said Costco is putting tariff refunds toward lower prices and is well placed to benefit from younger members and more delivery options. She also pointed to plans for 28 net new warehouses in fiscal 2027, mostly in underserved areas. Other firms cut their targets after the report, including JPMorgan (\$1,015) and Wells Fargo (\$950).

Costco and Uber announced on September 16, 2026 an expansion of Uber Eats delivery to nearly 600 Costco warehouses across 47 U.S. states — up from just 17 states previously — along with international availability in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, France, and Spain. Members can order fresh produce, bulk pantry staples, household items, and Kirkland Signature products through the Uber Eats app by entering their membership number at checkout. Promotional terms include 50% off the first year of Uber One membership and no delivery fees on eligible orders above $60 for Uber One members.

The move marks a notable strategic shift for Costco, which historically limited delivery options to protect the in-store foot traffic that underpins membership renewals and ancillary spending. Coming just a day after Costco also expanded its DoorDash partnership nationwide, the dual announcements suggest the company is now treating third-party delivery as a competitive necessity rather than a threat to its warehouse model. Broader delivery reach may lift basket frequency among members who cannot easily visit a warehouse, potentially supporting membership retention — a key metric for Costco's earnings quality.

DoorDash and Costco launched a nationwide U.S. delivery partnership on September 17, 2026, making all U.S. Costco warehouses available on the DoorDash Marketplace for same-day delivery. Members can access over 4,000 products per warehouse — including groceries, household essentials, electronics, seasonal merchandise, and Kirkland Signature items — by linking an active Costco membership in the DoorDash app. The expansion builds on an existing international partnership already live in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Iceland, and Puerto Rico.

For Costco, the nationwide rollout directly addresses high customer demand: the retailer had ranked among the most-searched brands previously unavailable on DoorDash. The partnership extends Costco's reach to on-demand delivery without requiring the company to build its own last-mile logistics, while the membership-linking requirement preserves Costco's subscription model. DoorDash noted it now partners with 8 of the 10 largest North American food retailers by the Progressive Grocer PG 100 ranking.

CNBC's Jim Cramer, long a Costco bull, expressed notable skepticism about the stock in early September, citing its stretched valuation of 49x earnings — a multiple he noted even Charlie Munger would not pay — alongside a forward P/E of 40.32 that exceeds Walmart's 36.5. Cramer also flagged concern that younger consumers, increasingly oriented toward online shopping, may not adopt the warehouse membership model the way prior generations did, and that the departure of longtime CFO Richard Galanti after more than 35 years may have cost the company something hard to replace.

The cautious shift comes despite Costco posting strong fiscal Q4 results, including an 11.3% jump in net sales to $93.9 billion and 10.7% growth in membership fee income to $1.37 billion. Digital comparable sales rose 19.5%, though that pace slowed from Q3's 21.5%, and merchandise margins contracted 21 basis points. U.S. and Canada renewal rates held flat at 92.2%, suggesting member retention remains solid even as the growth story faces more scrutiny from formerly steadfast supporters.

Home Depot is expanding its Food Operations program, bringing local and regional food vendors and food trucks to store locations — a move the retailer frames as a way to boost customer loyalty and lengthen shopping visits. The initiative is a direct nod to Costco's food court, long recognized as one of the warehouse retailer's most effective loyalty tools, offering famously low-priced meals that give shoppers an extra reason to visit and stay longer.

The move underscores how durable Costco's food court strategy has become as a competitive benchmark. Unlike Costco's standardized, low-margin food court model, Home Depot is partnering with local vendors to give individual stores a community feel — signaling that rivals see the concept as worth emulating even if they can't replicate it exactly. For Costco, the imitation is a validation: its food court remains a differentiated perk that competitors are still trying to catch up to.

Costco has abruptly discontinued Costco Next, its digital-only marketplace that offered members access to curated merchandise not available in its warehouse stores, with no advance notice to members. The platform, which featured hand-selected products from third-party vendors — including electronics, appliances, and other discretionary goods — now greets visitors with a message stating "Access to Costco Next store fronts is no longer available," along with vendor contact details for returns and warranty support.

The closure is notable given Costco's own bullish commentary about the service: during its Q3 fiscal 2025 earnings call, CFO Gary Millerchip noted that Costco Next sales in that quarter alone matched the company's total sales through the platform for all of fiscal year 2022. Costco has offered no public explanation for the shutdown and did not respond to media inquiries, leaving members who need post-purchase support to deal directly with individual vendors.

Telsey Advisory analyst Joe Feldman reiterated a Buy rating on Costco Wholesale (COST) on August 31, setting a price target of $1,135 — implying roughly 18% upside from current levels. The call was highlighted in CNBC's Monday roundup of major Wall Street analyst actions, coming as Costco heads into its fiscal year-end in August 2026 with analysts broadly maintaining constructive stances on the membership retailer.

Costco carries wide coverage with a bullish tilt on Wall Street: Bernstein carries the street-high target at $1,194, while Bank of America Securities, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank all have active Buy ratings with targets ranging from $1,120 to $1,200. Consensus expectations call for roughly 13.5% EPS growth in fiscal 2026, supported by record global membership renewal rates of 93% and continued warehouse expansion at a pace exceeding the company's historical average.

Korean beauty company APR will bring its Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0 to Costco's U.S. warehouse locations in September, marking the latest step in an accelerating North American retail rollout. The Costco listing follows recent placements at Ulta Beauty, Target, and Walmart, cementing APR's position across multiple U.S. mass and premium retail channels within roughly a year. North American sales reached 376.3 billion won ($273 million) in the second quarter, representing 49% of APR's total revenue.

APR listed on South Korea's Kospi in 2024 and has seen its shares roughly double this year, lifting its market capitalization to approximately 17.3 trillion won ($12.5 billion) — nearly twice that of Amorepacific and more than three times LG Household & Health Care. For Costco, the addition of APR's Medicube line reflects the retailer's continued expansion into K-beauty as a high-velocity health and beauty category.

Costco is making custom cakes and party platters available for delivery through Instacart for the first time, removing the warehouse visit requirement that previously applied to these high-demand items. Orders can be placed via sameday.costco.com and the Instacart marketplace, with Instacart's FoodStorm platform handling coordination between customer orders and bakery and deli teams at warehouse locations nationwide. Available items include custom sheet cakes, 10-inch round cakes, sandwich platters, shrimp trays, and fruit platters.

The move aligns with CEO Ron Vachris's stated priority of delivering a "more seamless and convenient experience for our members across the warehouse and online." For a membership-driven business where renewal rates directly underpin revenue, reducing friction around popular event-catering purchases reinforces the value proposition of an active Costco membership. The partnership also deepens Costco's existing relationship with Instacart while extending its digital commerce footprint beyond shelf-stable grocery delivery.

Costco has a history of issuing large special dividends roughly every three years — $7 per share in 2017, $10 in 2020, and $15 in 2023 — leading some analysts to speculate another payout could be approaching. The warehouse retailer has also grown its regular dividend at around 10% annually over the past decade, well ahead of Walmart's roughly 4% pace, though its current yield of approximately 0.6% trails Walmart's 0.9%.

The comparison with Walmart highlights a trade-off between income and growth. Walmart has raised its dividend for 53 consecutive years, earning Dividend King status and making it the more conventional choice for income-focused investors. Costco, which lacks that streak, is positioned as the stronger pick for investors prioritizing dividend growth over current yield. Both stocks trade above their five-year average valuations and offer yields below the broader S&P 500 average.