Costco (COST) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know

In the latest market close, Costco (COST) reached $975, with a +0.32% movement compared to the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.25%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.29%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.97%.The warehouse club operator's stock has climbed by 10.78% in the past month, exceeding the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 6.74% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.51%.The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Costco in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on December 12, 2024. On that day, Costco is projected to report earnings of $3.79 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 8.91%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $62.37 billion, indicating a 7.9% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $17.75 per share and a revenue of $273.33 billion, representing changes of +10.18% and +7.42%, respectively, from the prior year.Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Costco. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.02% upward. Costco is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.Looking at valuation, Costco is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 54.74. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 21.06, which means Costco is trading at a premium to the group.One should further note that COST currently holds a PEG ratio of 6. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.56.The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 191, putting it in the bottom 25% 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.Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.Must-See: Solar Stocks Poised to SkyrocketThe solar industry stands to bounce back as tech companies and the economy transition away from fossil fuels to power the AI boom.Trillions of dollars will be invested in clean energy over the coming years – and analysts predict solar will account for 80% of the renewable energy expansion. This creates an outsized opportunity to profit in the near-term and for years to come. But you have to pick the right stocks to get into.Discover Zacks’ hottest solar stock recommendation FREE.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks