New York, Feb 9, 2026, 12:30 EST — Regular session
- Costco slipped roughly 0.8%, landing at $993.42 after closing Friday at $1,001.16.
- Bernstein bumped up its price target for Costco to $1,155, sticking with its Outperform call.
- This week, attention is on major U.S. economic data, with Costco’s next earnings slated for early March.
Costco Wholesale slipped around 0.8% to $993.42 by midday Monday, pulling back after the stock had closed last week north of $1,000.
U.S. stocks wobbled as investors braced for a busy run of economic releases that could shake up the outlook for Fed rate cuts. The January nonfarm payrolls numbers hit Wednesday, with CPI for the same month following on Friday. Markets, using CME Group’s FedWatch tool, still peg June for the likely start of rate reductions. 1
Broker chatter didn’t let up. Bernstein’s Zhihan Ma bumped up the price target for Costco to $1,155 from $1,146, sticking with an Outperform. Ma described U.S. retail as “an interesting juncture” and pointed out that “consumer sentiment remains weak,” though sector rotation has given retailers a boost this year. 2
Costco slipped, part of a broader pullback among major retailers. Walmart dropped roughly 2.1%, Target slid 1.2%, and Amazon barely budged.
Costco’s monthly sales snapshots have become a go-to gauge for investors tracking consumer appetite. In the latest report out Feb. 4, the retailer posted a 9.3% jump in January net sales to $21.33 billion. Comparable sales, covering stores open at least a year, were up 7.1% over the four weeks. Digitally-enabled comp sales surged 34.4%. The company flagged that Lunar and Chinese New Year calendar shifts skewed sales in certain international markets. Costco counted 924 warehouses worldwide in the period. 3
Costco breaks out gasoline prices and foreign exchange in its reports—those factors can blur the real sales trend, particularly when fuel swings or the dollar shifts sharply.
Still, there’s a plain risk here: when a stock hovers close to a milestone like $1,000, even minor disappointments can hit harder. If February’s pace slips, or if costs end up steeper than anticipated, shares could reset in a hurry.
The next big test is just ahead. Costco will report its fiscal second-quarter numbers and February sales on March 5, with an earnings call slated for later that day. Its March sales update is marked for April 8. 4
