Costco Delivers Another Strong Quarter — Analysts See Loyalty And Traffic Driving Growth

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) remained volatile in early trading on Friday, even after the company Thursday reported upbeat fiscal first-quarter results. Here are some key analyst takeaways: BofA Securities analyst Robert Ohmes maintained a Buy rating and a $1,095 price target. Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman maintained an Outperform rating and price target of $1,100. Check out other analyst stock ratings. BofA Securities: Costco Wholesale reported total comps growth of 6.4% and U.S. comp growth of 5.9%, driven by both traffic and ticket size, Ohmes said in a note. The company reported higher-than-expected earnings of $4.50 per share, he added. The analyst raised the fiscal 2026E earnings estimate to $20.00 per share, from $19.72 per share. "We still expect continued topline support from extended store hours & Instacart funded $10 credit to help offset potential same-store sales deceleration against tougher comparisons that began in December," he further wrote. Telsey Advisory Group: Costco Wholesale delivered a solid quarter, "reflecting the continued success of its business model and high loyalty of its members," Feldman said. The company reported earnings of $4.50 per share, significantly higher than the consensus of $4.27 per share, he added. Total sales grew 8.3% to $67.3 billion, surpassing the consensus of $67.1 billion, while the operating margin expanded 13 basis points (bps) to 3.7%, in line with expectations, the analyst stated. "Costco should continue to drive growth, increase market share, and increase share of wallet among existing members by opening new clubs, introducing high quality, trend right items, maintaining consistent low prices, enhancing digital functionalities, and leveraging data of its ~145.9MM total cardholding members," he further wrote. COST Price Action: Costco Wholesale shares were down 1.02% at $875.43 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Read More: Costco November US Core Comps Fall Short, But Trends Overall Consistent: Analyst Image by Dolores M. Harvey via Shutterstock