TLDR
- Costco stock is trading near $1,000 after rising ~15% in 2026, outpacing the S&P 500.
- January net sales hit $21.33 billion, up 9.3% year over year.
- E-commerce comparable sales surged 34.4% in January.
- Evercore ISI raised its price target to $1,050; Citi lifted its target to $1,000.
- At 53x earnings, one analyst suggests $830 is a better entry point.
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Costco Wholesale (COST) has climbed back near the $1,000 mark in 2026, gaining roughly 15% year-to-date and leaving the S&P 500 in the dust.
Costco Wholesale Corporation, COST
The rally has investors asking a familiar question: is the stock still worth buying at this price, or has the run-up already priced in the good news?
The business itself is not the problem. Costco continues to post steady, consistent numbers that most retailers would envy.
January net sales came in at $21.33 billion, up 9.3% from a year earlier. For the first 22 weeks of the fiscal year, net sales totaled $123.2 billion, an 8.5% increase.
Comparable sales rose 7.1% in January. Strip out gas prices and foreign exchange, and the number settles at 6.4% — still solid.
E-Commerce Stands Out
The real headline from January was e-commerce. Digitally enabled comparable sales jumped 34.4%, or 33.1% adjusted. That’s a sharp acceleration from the 18.3% adjusted growth posted in December.
For a retailer built around physical warehouses, that kind of online momentum matters.
Fiscal Q1 results (ended Nov. 23, 2025) told a similar story. Net sales rose 8.2% to $66.0 billion. Membership fee revenue grew 14% to $1.329 billion. Total paid members reached 81.4 million, up 5.2%.
Executive memberships — the top-tier category — grew 9.1% to 39.7 million.
Wall Street Weighs In
Analysts took notice after Costco posted a modest beat on same-store sales and earnings in fiscal Q2.
On February 10, Evercore ISI analyst Greg Melich raised his price target to $1,050 from $1,025, keeping an Outperform rating.
On February 20, Citi analyst Steven Zaccone lifted his target to $1,000 from $990, though he held a Neutral rating. He described the Q2 results as a modest beat.
Not everyone is ready to chase the stock at current levels, though.
At roughly 53 times earnings, Costco’s valuation leaves little room for anything to go wrong. Any slowdown in comparable sales growth or pressure from competitors like Amazon or Sam’s Club could hit the stock hard.
One analyst put a preferred entry point at around $830 per share — about 17% below where the stock trades now.
The membership model remains a durable competitive edge, generating high-margin, recurring revenue that few retailers can replicate. But durability and value are different things.
Citi’s $1,000 price target and Neutral rating capture that tension well — good company, full price.
