- Prev close
- $899.41
- Day range
- $895.84 – $903.40
- From 52-wk high
- -18.0%
- Next earnings
- in 2 days
COST’s 2026-09-18 close was a modest +0.2% move against a mixed retail backdrop, while the stock still trades 18.3% below its 52-week high and at a rich 44.9 P/E, so the setup reads more valuation-sensitive than broken.
COST
COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP
As of Sep 20, 2026
58/100
Worth keeping an eye onHealth ScoreMove driver
The primary driver looks stock-specific rather than market-wide: COST closed +0.2% on 2026-09-18, while the S&P 500 fell -0.1% and the Nasdaq 100 rose +0.6%. Same-sector peers were mostly weaker, with WMT -0.1%, TGT -1.0%, DG -2.0%, and DLTR -2.1%, so the move was not a broad retail lift. The session itself was steady — it opened at $892.425, traded to a high of $898.4 and a low of $890.55, then finished at $895.31 — which points to a quiet, range-bound close rather than a sharp event-driven swing.
Volatility check
This looks like ordinary volatility for a high-quality but richly valued name, not a fundamental break. Revenue is up 0.2% YoY TTM and the latest quarter was +11.6% YoY, while EPS is up 0.2% YoY TTM; those are intact growth numbers, and margins remain solid at gross +12.9%, operating +3.8%, and net +3.0%. The valuation is the real swing factor: PE 44.9, forward PE 42.6, and PEG 4.05 — PEG is P/E divided by earnings growth, so a 4.05 PEG means strong growth is already priced in. Beta is 0.87, which supports lower-than-market sensitivity, but the stock is still 18.3% below its 52-week high, so the recent drift lower is more consistent with a valuation reset than with deteriorating operations.
Earnings preview
The next earnings date is 2026-09-24. The facts provided do not include analyst consensus for revenue, EPS, or margin, and they do not give prior post-earnings reaction history, so I won’t invent a preview line on those items. What the market is likely focused on is whether Costco can keep revenue growth at or above the recent 9.2% TTM and 11.6% latest-quarter pace, whether EPS can stay ahead at 12.8% TTM growth, and whether operating margin can hold near +3.8% despite a 44.9 PE and 42.6 forward PE.
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