3 models fit Costco Wholesale Corporation Common Stock and they agree: 3 of 3 land within 15% of the average. The price is above every model.
Two or more of our models back this value.
Large premium(i)Bronze54
Valued as a mature, profitable company: Discounted cash flow, P/E comparison, EV/EBITDA comparison, Graham number, and Dividend discount.
ACCE opinionCostco Wholesale Corporation Common Stock (COST)
Fair value (3 models)
$412
ACCE price target
$900
Rating
Overvalued
Horizon
12 months
Fair value published on 24 Oct 2026, 16:06 CEST; previously $525 since 17 Oct 2026, 00:00 CEST.
ACCE price target published on 15 Oct 2026, 00:00 CEST; previously $876 since 18 Apr 2026, 00:00 CEST.
Rating published on 24 Oct 2026, 16:06 CEST.
Price used: $1003 at the close on 23 Oct 2026, 22:00 CEST.
Models: Discounted cash flow, P/E comparison, and EV/EBITDA comparison.
Fair value: the average of the applicable valuation models (discounted cash flow, multiples, residual income, dividend discount, shareholder yield), each run on the latest financial statements and the market price shown. Opinion columns (fair value, target, rating) are shown apart from the data. Full methodology: acceinvestments.com/data/how-we-value-stocks
Conflicts of interest: The author holds no personal position in this security. General statement
Produced by ACCE Investments (acceinvestments.com)
Data
Price vs fair value
143.3% above
-58.9% to fair value
ACCE score
54
out of 100
Analysts
63% buy
40 covering
P/E
48.1x
forward 40.3x
1-year return
+6.5%
Dividend yield
0.55%
Costco Wholesale Corporation Common Stock in four questions
Plain answers, details below
Free accounts get 5 full stock pages a month, including the four answers.
Overview
ACCE thesis
Costco runs a membership warehouse model, selling everything from bulk groceries and gasoline to electronics, apparel and its Kirkland Signature private label through roughly 900 warehouses worldwide. The moat is the membership fee annuity layered over a thin 12.8% gross margin, which lets it price below rivals and still earn a 28.4% return on equity. Revenue growth of 11.1% is solid for a company this size, and the stock trades at 40.3 times forward earnings, so the market is paying for durability rather than acceleration. The question for a deeper look is whether membership renewals and fee increases can keep compounding earnings fast enough to justify that multiple. At a 3.8% operating margin there is little room for error if the consumer or wage costs turn, and the score of 50 out of 100 reflects a quality business priced at a full premium.