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Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) — chart, structure and Closelook read

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Company snapshot — Costco Wholesale Corp

COST in five paragraphs: what it makes and sells, where it sits in the Closelook stack, who it is priced against, why we track it, what we watch. Research diary, not advice.

What it does
Costco runs membership warehouse stores that sell groceries, household goods, electronics and fuel in bulk at low margins, funded largely by annual membership fees rather than markup. It operates across North America and several overseas markets including Japan, the UK, Korea and Australia, and also runs pharmacies, optical counters, travel booking and e-commerce alongside the stores. It is based in Issaquah, Washington, and lists on Nasdaq.
Where it sits in the stack
Costco sits in our HALO Growth 100 index, inside the Destination Economy sleeve, which groups businesses where consumer surplus parks itself once shoppers have a choice. Within that sleeve Costco represents scale discount retail rather than premium branding: it earns through membership fees and volume, a different customer relationship from the luxury and performance names it sits beside.
Who it is priced against
Closelook's peer group places it in the Destination Economy sleeve with premium experience and owned-distribution brands such as Ferrari, Hermes, Lululemon and On Holding, where it stands out as the value-membership counterpart to their premium pricing; the comparison the wider market draws is with Walmart's Sam's Club warehouse business.
Why Closelook tracks it
It sits in our HALO Growth 100 index and the Nasdaq-100, and it carries a Closelook score with quality as its strongest module and valuation as its weakest; it has not yet appeared in our editions.
What the diary watches
The diary watches whether the recent softening in price momentum reflects slower membership growth or renewal, or is simply a pause within a name whose valuation module already reads stretched.

Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) trades on US exchanges, classified under Consumer Defensive. Constituent of HALO Growth 100.

The Closelook company score reads 47/100 composite (momentum 33, quality 44, valuation 28) across 7 modules — the full breakdown, chart structure and analog history load live above.

Written from the company’s public profile and Closelook’s own readings, 2026-09-17. Descriptive, refreshed with the registry; corrections welcome via the imprint. closelook.net is an investment research diary — market structure, index membership and scores are our own readings, not investment advice. Related: COST news on the tape · index compare · sector dispersion · scanner.

Signals for this name

Every Closelook reading that exists for COST, from the same nightly bakes the boards use. Research diary readings, not advice.

The Street on this name 2 analyst actions on the wire · latest: price target by Bernstein, 2026-09-04 · last print 2026-09-24

The Street on this name

Analyst actions and the latest print for COST from the Closelook wires — third-party opinions on the record, not our readings.

  • Price target Bernstein — target 1,144 from 1,194 Target cut to $1144 from $1194 (+23.6% to spot) 2026-09-04
  • Price target Deutsche Bank — target 1,091 from 1,120 Target cut to $1091 from $1120 (+18.2% to spot) 2026-09-04
  • Latest print EPS 6.75 against 6.54 expected — a +3.2% beat 2026-09-24

2 actions on the analyst wire since 2026-08-13: 2 target changes. Analyst wire → · Earnings wire →

Who it is priced against HALO Growth 100 · Destination Economy · 8 names with week and year-to-date

Peer group

HALO Growth 100 · Destination Economy

Premium experience brands, owned-distribution luxury, performance lifestyle. Where consumer surplus parks itself when it has the choice.

Compared against COST on the nightly bakes; the Peers tab ranks the cohort on the Closelook scores where it exists.

Versus its index HALO Growth 100 — the name, its sleeve and the index over day, week and month

Versus its index

The name against its Closelook index and its own sleeve — equal-weight, nightly closes.

HALO Growth 100 · as of 2026-09-24

DayWeekMonth3 months
COST−0.9%+0.3%−6.6%−4.9%
Destination Economy−0.5%+1.3%−9.6%—
HALO Growth 100−0.8%−0.5%−7.7%—

Against the index: 0.8 pts ahead on the week, 1.1 pts ahead on the month; against its Destination Economy sleeve 3.0 pts ahead on the month.

Returns from the index workers’ nightly closes; equal-weight sleeves. A relative reading from the research diary, not advice.

Dividends and capital return trailing yield 0.62%, quarterly · buybacks 903 m USD in FY2025

Dividends and capital return

What COST pays out and buys back — distributions read from the price series, money terms from the filings.

  • Trailing 12 months 5.54 USD per share · a 0.62% yield on the 2026-09-24 close 4 distributions, paid quarterly 2026-09-24
  • Change on the year +12.6% against the prior twelve months prior twelve months 4.92 USD per share
  • Last distribution 1.47 USD per share as the price series records it, within days of the ex-date 2026-07-24
  • By calendar year 2023: 16.02 USD (partial) · 2024: 4.50 USD · 2025: 5.06 USD · 2026: 4.24 USD to date first distribution recorded in the three-year window: 2023-11-02
  • Dividends paid, FY2025 2.18 bn USD 27% of earnings
  • Buybacks, FY2025 903 m USD 0.2% of today's market value
  • Share count +0.0% in FY2025 860 m USD of stock-based compensation in the year
  • Capital returned 3.09 bn USD · 39% of free cash flow dividends and buybacks together, against the year’s free cash flow

Per-share amounts are derived from the adjusted price series in the listing currency, so dates sit within days of the ex-date; filing figures come from the fundamentals feed for the last reported fiscal year. An investment diary, not a recommendation.

How it trades on rate days beta −0.03 to TLT · on the worst bond days it held up better than the market

How it trades on rate days

How COST has moved when long-dated Treasury yields rise — measured against TLT, the 20+ year Treasury fund.

  • Beta to long bonds, 1 year −0.03 — shows only a loose link to bond moves for every 1% move in TLT (20+ year Treasuries), Costco Wholesale Corp moved −0.03% on average · correlation −0.01 · higher than 8% of US names
  • Beta, last 3 months 0.12 about the same as over the year
  • On the 10 worst bond days −0.09% on average against −0.74% for the S&P 500 the 10 sessions of the past year in which TLT fell most, i.e. long yields rose most
  • Latest of those days −0.91% TLT −1.29% that day 2026-09-24

Daily total returns from the adjusted price series; a TLT down day is a day long yields rose. Beta = the average move of the name for a 1% move in TLT. Past sensitivity, not a forecast. An investment diary, not a recommendation.

Weather around the name 4 macro readings: Money Temperature, Factor regime, Sector × region …

The weather around this name

Macro readings that apply by membership — the regime, the factor tape, the sector cell, the funding backdrop.

  • Money Temperature Composite 60/100 · S&P 500 fund at 66, bullish alignedEight instruments scored on position, momentum, volume, volatility and fragility — the regime every name trades inside. Temperature lab → 2026-09-24
  • Factor regime Momentum leading — risk appetite buildingMomentum against low volatility (SPMO / SPLV): above its 50-day trend, 99th percentile of the window, +10.1% over 20 sessions. Factor regime → 2026-09-24
  • Sector × region Consumer staples in US: −1.5% week · −4.9% month · −2.0% quarter · −3.1% yearThe Sector Engine cell this name lives in, from XLP.US; the 11 × 4 matrix shows where its sector is being bought and where it is being sold. Sector Engine → 2026-09-24
  • Sovereign pressure Index 0.60 · up 0.32 over 21 sessionsG7 long-end yields, 10s30s and the slope — the funding weather for every balance sheet on this site. Sovereign pressure → 2026-09-23

FAQ · from the current data · as of 2026-09-25

Quick answers

What is Costco Wholesale Corp (COST)?

Costco Wholesale Corp trades as COST on the US exchange (US) and is classified under Consumer Defensive in the Closelook research universe, as of the registry build of 2026-09-25.

Is COST in a Closelook index?

Yes — Costco Wholesale Corp is a constituent of HALO Growth 100, as of 2026-09-25.

What is Costco Wholesale Corp's Closelook composite score?

47 out of 100, with momentum 33, quality 44 and valuation 28 sub-scores, as of 2026-09-25. Scores are Closelook's own research readings, not ratings or investment advice.

What is Costco Wholesale Corp's earnings print record?

Across the 10 prints Closelook covers, Costco Wholesale Corp beat EPS estimates 8 times and revenue estimates 8 times; the three-day reactions split 1 up, 6 flat and 3 down (moves beyond ±3%), as of the 2026-09-20 card. The full print-record card carries the per-print history.

Where does COST trade against its moving averages?

Stochastic turned up: Its stochastic crossed up out of oversold (%K 29.3 over %D 20.5) 3 sessions ago — a short-term momentum-turn signal. As of 2026-09-23 — a technical state from the nightly Closelook bake, not advice. The Technical tab carries the full row.

How is COST doing against its Closelook index?

Over the past month Costco Wholesale Corp is −6.6% against −7.7% for the HALO Growth 100 — 1.1 points ahead of its index, as of 2026-09-24. Its Destination Economy sleeve is −9.6% over the same month. The “Versus its index” table on this page carries the day, the week and the month for the name, its sleeve and the index.

What does Costco Wholesale Corp do?

Costco runs membership warehouse stores that sell groceries, household goods, electronics and fuel in bulk at low margins, funded largely by annual membership fees rather than markup. It operates across North America and several overseas markets including Japan, the UK, Korea and Australia, and also runs pharmacies, optical counters, travel booking and e-commerce alongside the stores. It is based in Issaquah, Washington, and lists on Nasdaq. Closelook's peer group places it in the Destination Economy sleeve with premium experience and owned-distribution brands such as Ferrari, Hermes, Lululemon and On Holding, where it stands out as the value-membership counterpart to their premium pricing; the comparison the wider market draws is with Walmart's Sam's Club warehouse business.

Where does Costco Wholesale Corp sit in the AI build-out?

Costco sits in our HALO Growth 100 index, inside the Destination Economy sleeve, which groups businesses where consumer surplus parks itself once shoppers have a choice. Within that sleeve Costco represents scale discount retail rather than premium branding: it earns through membership fees and volume, a different customer relationship from the luxury and performance names it sits beside. It sits in our HALO Growth 100 index and the Nasdaq-100, and it carries a Closelook score with quality as its strongest module and valuation as its weakest; it has not yet appeared in our editions.

Does Costco Wholesale Corp pay a dividend?

Costco Wholesale Corp has paid 5.54 USD per share over the last twelve months, paid quarterly, a trailing yield of 0.62% on the 2026-09-24 close; the last distribution recorded in the price series was 1.47 USD on 2026-07-24. In fiscal 2025 the company paid 2.18 bn USD in dividends and bought back 903 m USD of its own shares, 39% of that year’s free cash flow. The share count rose 0.0% over the fiscal year. The "Dividends and capital return" block on this page carries the lines.

How does Costco Wholesale Corp trade when bond yields rise?

Over the past year Costco Wholesale Corp had a beta of −0.03 to TLT, the long-dated Treasury fund — it shows only a loose link to bond moves, higher than 8% of US names. On the 10 sessions in which long bonds fell most it moved −0.09% on average, against −0.74% for the S&P 500. The "How it trades on rate days" block on this page carries the lines.

What has Wall Street done on Costco Wholesale Corp recently?

The most recent analyst action on Costco Wholesale Corp on the Closelook wire is a price target by Bernstein on 2026-09-04 (target 1,144 from 1,194). 2 actions on the analyst wire since 2026-08-13: 2 target changes. Its latest earnings print on the wire, 2026-09-24: EPS 6.75 against 6.54 expected — a +3.2% beat. Analyst actions are third-party opinions recorded by the wire, not Closelook readings. The “The Street on this name” block on this page lists the moves; the full feeds are the analyst wire and the earnings wire.

Where has Closelook written about Costco Wholesale Corp?

Costco Wholesale Corp appears in 6 Closelook pieces, most recently Morning 10: Rates — the 10-year closes at 5.11% and the 5-year hits 5%; Tokyo reopens higher, chip-equipment makers lead (2026-09-24); Morning 10: Nasdaq - a second record close as memory jumps 5-7% and banks, card networks and software are sold (2026-09-23); Midday 10: Yields — the 10-year is back above 5% on a hot PMI and a hawkish Fed; chips fall, software is bought (2026-09-23). The "Mentioned on Closelook" block on this page lists the long reads, the reference entries and the dailies that name it.

What does this page show?

A live price chart with SMA overlays and drawing tools for COST, performance metrics, index-membership context and the Closelook structure read — an investment research diary view, not investment advice.

Mentioned on Closelook 6 pieces · newest: Morning 10, “Rates — the 10-year closes at 5.11% and the 5-year hits 5%; Tokyo reopens higher, chip-equipment makers lead” (2026-09-24)

Mentioned on Closelook

Where COST appears in the diary — 6 pieces, newest first. Every link is our own writing.

Dailies

Related in the Closelook universe

same Closelook index seat first, then Discount Stores, then Consumer Defensive. Scored names rank on their Closelook score; names without one rank on trend state — above or below their 50- and 200-day averages — never on a score they do not carry.