NEW YORK, Jan 2, 2026, 10:41 ET
- Telsey reiterated an Outperform rating and a $1,100 price target on Costco ahead of the company’s December sales update.
- The brokerage expects December comparable sales growth to slow to 2.2% from a year earlier, with online growth also decelerating.
- Investors are watching traffic and membership renewal rates as Costco heads into its next monthly sales release.
Costco stock slipped on Friday as Telsey Advisory Group reiterated its Outperform rating — a call for the shares to beat the broader market — and kept a $1,100 price target ahead of the retailer’s December sales report. The brokerage expects comparable sales to rise 2.2% for the month, down sharply from a year earlier, Investing.com reported.
The January 7 update is one of the first holiday read-outs among major U.S. retailers and is closely watched because Costco publishes monthly sales results in addition to quarterly earnings.
The release also lands against a tougher year-ago comparison, after stronger December growth last year. That has made the pace of store traffic and online demand a bigger swing factor for near-term expectations.
Telsey forecasts core merchandise comparable sales of 2.0% when excluding gasoline and foreign exchange, which can distort month-to-month comparisons. It sees U.S. comparable sales excluding gas rising 1.0%, with Canada at 4.0% and other international markets at 5.0%.
Digital sales, which include online orders, are seen rising 5.0%, while the firm expects customer traffic to increase 0.5% and the average ticket — the amount spent per trip — to climb 1.7%. Telsey attributed ticket growth to tariff-driven inflation and cited product and marketing initiatives such as CostcoNext.com.
Costco has scheduled its December sales results for Jan. 7 at 1:15 p.m. PT (4:15 p.m. ET), shortly after U.S. markets close, according to its investor relations calendar.
The retailer reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 net sales of $65.98 billion, up 8.2% from a year earlier, and comparable sales growth of 6.4% for the 12 weeks ended Nov. 23. Net income rose to $2.001 billion, or $4.50 per share, the company said in December.
On the earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said membership fee income rose 14% to $1.329 billion and renewal rates — the share of members who renew — were 92.2% in the U.S. and Canada and 89.7% worldwide. “We may still see a slight decline in the overall renewal rate over the next few quarters,” Millerchip said, pointing to the faster growth of online sign-ups. The Motley Fool
A Motley Fool commentary published Friday said Costco still looks expensive, noting the stock traded at a price-to-earnings multiple of 47.
Costco competes most directly with Walmart’s Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club, while big-box chains like Target provide another lens on U.S. retail demand as the holiday season ends.
Investors will watch whether December growth comes mainly from higher spending per trip or more visits, and how results look when stripping out gasoline and currency swings. Those details can change the direction of the headline sales figure.
