Costco Stock Today (COST): Shares Edge Higher on Black Friday as Investors Eye December Earnings

November 28, 2025

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) finished Black Friday trading in the green, closing at $913.59, up about 0.6% on the day and extending this week’s rebound in the stock. ^[1] The move came as U.S. equities advanced in holiday-shortened trading and major retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Costco, saw modest gains tied to Black Friday optimism. ^[2]

At today’s close, COST trades roughly 15% below its 52‑week high a little above $1,078 set in February, and above its recent 52‑week low near $872, leaving the shares in the lower half of their annual range. ^[3] Over the last 12 months, Costco stock is down around 6%, and year‑to‑date total return is hovering near flat — around 0% to slightly negative, depending on the data provider. ^[4]

Costco stock price snapshot for November 28, 2025

Closing price: $913.59
Daily move: +$5.33, or +0.59% ^[5]
Recent daily range: roughly $903–$914 today, based on intraday data. ^[6]
52‑week range: about $871.71–$1,078.23. ^[7]
Market capitalization: roughly $405 billion. ^[8]

Trading volume today appears to be quieter than usual, with under a million shares changing hands versus a three‑month average volume around 2.4–2.7 million shares. ^[9]

After a strong run earlier in 2025, COST has spent the past few months giving back gains. Analytics from Trefis estimate that the stock declined about 3% between July 31 and November 28, largely on concerns about its premium valuation, while other commentators note roughly a 10% pullback over the last three months, enough to erase its year‑to‑date advance. ^[10]

Why investors are watching Costco on Black Friday

Black Friday is a key sentiment check for any big‑box retailer, and Costco is no exception. Market commentary today highlighted Costco among retailers posting gains as investors bet on healthy holiday spending. ^[11]

Costco’s investment case continues to rest on a few core pillars:

Membership‑driven model
Costco makes a significant slice of its profits from membership fees rather than product mark‑ups. The company raised membership prices on September 1, 2024 — standard U.S. memberships moved from $60 to $65, and Executive memberships from $120 to $130, with those higher prices in effect throughout 2025. ^[12]
Robust membership growth despite fee hikes
In fiscal 2025, membership fee income has continued to grow strongly. A Zacks/Nasdaq analysis noted that Q3 fiscal 2025 membership fee income rose 10.4% year‑over‑year to $1.24 billion, driven both by the fee increase and by a larger member base. Paid household memberships rose to 79.6 million, executive memberships to 37.6 million, and renewal rates stayed extremely high — roughly 92–93% in the U.S. and Canada and about 90% globally. ^[13]
Younger customers and extended hours
During the most recent earnings commentary, Costco said that extended store hours added about 1% to weekly U.S. sales, and that its membership base is skewing younger and more diverse, with millennials and Gen Z families increasingly joining. Executive members, though less than half of total members, now drive nearly three‑quarters of worldwide sales, underscoring the importance of the higher‑tier membership. ^[14]

With Black Friday and the broader holiday season underway, investors are effectively trying to answer one question: Can Costco maintain high traffic and renewal rates at higher membership prices while consumers remain price‑sensitive?

Recent earnings: strong fundamentals, premium expectations

Costco’s latest reported quarter is Q4 fiscal 2025 (for the period ended August 31, 2025), released on September 25.

Key highlights:

Q4 net sales: about $84.4 billion, up 8.0% from the prior year. ^[15]
Q4 net income: around $2.61 billion, or $5.87 per diluted share, up roughly 11% year over year (excluding a prior‑year tax benefit). ^[16]
Membership fee revenue: increased to roughly $1.72 billion in Q4, up from $1.51 billion a year earlier — a jump of about 14%. ^[17]
Full‑year net sales: approximately $269.9 billion, up 8.1% versus fiscal 2024. ^[18]
Comparable sales growth (Q4):5.7% overall, or 6.4% when adjusted for gasoline and foreign exchange. U.S. comps grew around 6%, with Canada and other international markets in the high‑single digits. ^[19]

E‑commerce continues to be a bright spot:

Q4 2025 e‑commerce sales grew 13.6% year over year, and
For fiscal 2025, e‑commerce revenue exceeded $19.6 billion, up 15.6%, representing about 7.3% of total sales. ^[20]

This combination of resilient in‑store traffic, robust digital growth and rising membership fee income underpins why many analysts still view Costco as a high‑quality, defensive growth story.

Valuation: Costco still commands a rich premium

The flip side of Costco’s quality is price. Several metrics show the stock remains expensive relative to both its own history and retail peers:

Multiple data providers put Costco’s trailing price‑to‑earnings (P/E) ratio around 49–50x as of late November 2025. ^[21]
Research from Simply Wall St estimates Costco’s P/E at about 49.2x, versus an average near 21x for the broader U.S. consumer retailing sector and a “fair” level around 33x, signaling a substantial valuation premium. ^[22]

Analysts are split between admiration for Costco’s business model and caution about how much of that strength is already priced in:

Consensus view: StockAnalysis data show an average 12‑month price target of $1,064, implying roughly 16–17% upside from today’s close, with a “Buy” consensus among about 25 analysts. ^[23]
More cautious takes: Citigroup recently maintained a “Neutral” rating on Costco while cutting its price target from $1,065 to $990, citing valuation concerns. ^[24]
Trefis notes that several firms have downgraded Costco or trimmed targets in recent months, again pointing primarily to the stock’s stretched valuation rather than any collapse in fundamentals. ^[25]

A recent Yahoo Finance analysis framed the issue bluntly: COST’s business keeps beating expectations, but the stock has at times struggled as valuation resets and a roughly 10% pullback over three months erased earlier 2025 gains. ^[26]

Upcoming catalysts: November sales and Q1 2026 earnings

Investors in Costco now turn their attention to two near‑term events:

November 2025 sales report (early December)
Costco typically releases monthly sales figures, and its investor relations site lists an upcoming November sales update on December 3, 2025. ^[27]
- Analysts will scrutinise same‑store sales, traffic trends and fuel‑price effects.
- After Q4’s mid‑single‑digit comps, another strong month could reassure investors that consumer demand is holding up into the critical holiday period. ^[28]
Q1 fiscal 2026 earnings (December 11, 2025)
Costco is scheduled to report Q1 2026 results after the market close on December 11, 2025, followed by a conference call that afternoon. ^[29]
- Key watch‑points include gross margin (particularly in food, fresh categories and gasoline), membership renewal trends, e‑commerce growth and any updated commentary on pricing or tariffs.
- Given the stock’s lofty valuation, even small deviations from expectations — such as the slight miss versus same‑store sales forecasts in Q4 — can trigger outsized share‑price moves. ^[30]

There is also periodic speculation about whether Costco might eventually split its stock again, given the high nominal share price. Earlier in 2025, some commentators flagged Costco as a potential candidate for a split, but management has not announced any such plans. ^[31]

How today’s move fits the bigger picture for COST

Putting it all together, today’s small Black Friday bounce looks less like a dramatic turning point and more like a continuation of a tug‑of‑war between fundamentals and valuation:

On the bullish side:
- Membership income is growing at a double‑digit clip, even after last year’s fee hike. ^[32]
- Renewal rates remain exceptionally high, underscoring Costco’s sticky customer base. ^[33]
- Q4 results showed solid top‑line growth, accelerating e‑commerce and rising profitability. ^[34]
On the cautious side:
- COST still trades at roughly 50 times earnings, far richer than most of its retail peers and even its own historical average, leaving little room for disappointment. ^[35]
- Recent months have seen the stock drift lower despite strong results, as investors question how much faster Costco can grow without compressing margins in a more promotional retail environment. ^[36]
- Rising labor and merchandise costs, plus tariff and FX uncertainty, continue to threaten margins at the edges, as earlier quarters and commentary highlighted. ^[37]

For long‑term watchers of Costco stock, today’s move is another reminder that COST is behaving more like a high‑quality “bond‑like” growth stock than a typical retail name: fundamentals remain resilient, but the share price is tethered to a valuation that already assumes steady growth, high renewal rates and ongoing pricing power.

Key takeaways for Costco stock on November 28, 2025

Costco stock closed at $913.59 on Black Friday, up about 0.6% and still roughly 15% below its 52‑week high. ^[38]
Fundamentals remain robust, with Q4 fiscal 2025 showing 8% sales growth, double‑digit membership‑fee growth and strong e‑commerce momentum. ^[39]
Valuation is the main overhang: COST trades around 50x earnings versus low‑20s for many retail peers, prompting some analysts to trim targets or take a more neutral stance even while liking the business. ^[40]
Near‑term catalysts include November sales data on December 3 and Q1 2026 earnings on December 11, both of which could influence whether the current modest rebound has legs. ^[41]

As always, this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, or a prediction of future performance. Investors should consider their own financial situation, risk tolerance and objectives, and may want to consult a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions involving Costco stock or any other security.

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