The most recent trading session ended with Costco (COST) standing at $1,055.66, reflecting a +1.94% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.47%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.37%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 1.35%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the warehouse club operator had gained 7.29% over the past month. This has outpaced the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 0.47% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.78% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Costco in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on March 6, 2025. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $4.09, reflecting a 10.24% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $63.2 billion, showing an 8.15% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $18.03 per share and a revenue of $273.29 billion, representing changes of +11.92% and +7.4%, respectively, from the prior year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Costco. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.1% higher. Costco is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking at its valuation, Costco is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 57.45. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 18.77 for its industry.

We can also see that COST currently has a PEG ratio of 6.16. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Retail - Discount Stores industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.13 as of yesterday's close.

The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 28, finds itself in the top 12% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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