New York, January 7, 2026, 14:14 (ET) — Regular session
- Costco shares down about 0.5% in afternoon trade
- Company due to post December sales results after the close
- Investors watching comparable sales and membership momentum
Costco Wholesale shares fell about 0.5% to $884.59 in afternoon trading on Wednesday, with investors waiting for the retailer’s December sales update due after the market close.
The monthly release is a fast checkpoint after the holiday rush, and it can move expectations before the next wave of earnings reports hits the retail sector.
Traders will zero in on comparable sales — sales at warehouses open at least a year — and what they imply for membership momentum, where Costco makes most of its profit.
Costco beat first-quarter revenue and profit estimates in December as shoppers bought affordable essentials and some discretionary items, benefiting from its private-label Kirkland Signature mix, the company and analysts said at the time. Greg Zakowicz, an ecommerce and retail adviser at marketing platform Omnisend, said consumers were still trying to “stretch their dollar further.” Reuters
A recent analyst upgrade has kept the stock on watchlists. Mizuho analyst David Bellinger raised Costco to an outperform rating and lifted his price target to $1,000, writing that “shares have corrected ~20%” on worries that membership and comparable sales growth are slowing. TipRanks
The report lands after the close on Wednesday. Investors will look for signs that U.S. traffic held up, while also watching how much gasoline prices and currency swings muddied the top-line picture.
But the read can cut both ways. A softer sales number — or a print skewed by fuel and FX — could revive concerns about slowing growth and hit a stock that rarely gets much slack.
The next catalysts are close behind: Costco’s annual shareholder meeting is set for Jan. 15, and its fiscal second-quarter earnings call is scheduled for March 5.
