Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) heads into Tuesday, November 25, 2025, trading just under the $900 mark after another choppy session, extending a months‑long pullback that has erased its 2025 gains. Recent data show the stock closing around $886 per share, with a market cap near $393 billion, after trading between roughly $881 and $901 on Monday and sitting about 18% below its 52‑week high near $1,078. [1]
Despite this year’s slump, long‑term holders are still well ahead: Costco’s five‑year total return is roughly 150–160%, depending on the data provider, easily outpacing the broader market. [2]
Over the last 24 hours, a fresh wave of research has hit the tape:
- Zacks/Nasdaq spotlighted a double‑digit jump in membership fee income but reiterated a cautious valuation stance. [3]
- Simply Wall St published a new valuation deep‑dive suggesting Costco trades about 30% above its discounted‑cash‑flow fair value. [4]
- InvestorPlace’s Louis Navellier moved Costco into a weaker bucket in his blue‑chip rankings, downgrading it in his Stock Grader system. [5]
- MarketBeat highlighted that institutional investor Weik Capital Management trimmed its Costco position. [6]
At the same time, bullish features from Yahoo Finance and The Motley Fool continue to argue that the recent slide may be a long‑term buying opportunity. [7]
Below is a detailed look at how COST stands today and what investors are watching as we move closer to December’s earnings report.
Costco stock price today: where COST stands on November 25, 2025
Latest price and trading range
- Last regular‑session close: about $886.12
- After‑hours trading: roughly $885.88
- Monday’s intraday range: about $881–$901
- 52‑week range: $871.71–$1,078.24 [8]
That leaves Costco:
- Down roughly 2–3% year to date (depending on whether you look at pure price or total return). [9]
- Down mid‑single digits over the last 12 months, an unusual stretch of underperformance for a retailer that has historically been a steady compounder. [10]
- Still up about 1.5x over five years, underscoring how sharp the long‑term climb has been even after this year’s pullback. [11]
In other words, the stock has gone from “relentless winner” to “rangebound and controversial” in 2025—without any obvious deterioration in the underlying business.
Under the hood: fundamentals remain strong
Fiscal 2025 results
For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2025, Costco delivered: [12]
- Revenue: about $275.2 billion, up a little over 8% year on year.
- Net income: roughly $8.1 billion, up about 10%.
- EPS (TTM): around $18.21.
In the Q4 FY 2025 report (released September 25), Costco posted: [13]
- EPS of about $5.87, beating analyst estimates.
- Quarterly revenue near $86 billion, another record.
- Comparable‑store sales rising about 5.7%, with international comps closer to the high‑single digits, highlighting particular strength outside the U.S.
These numbers reinforce the core Costco story: low margins, high volume, and steady traffic growth, even as many retailers struggle with erratic demand.
Membership engine is still humming
Fresh analysis from Zacks, republished via Nasdaq, highlighted one of Costco’s most important levers: membership. [14]
Key Q4 membership takeaways:
- Membership fee income in the quarter climbed about 14% to roughly $1.72 billion.
- Paid memberships rose around 6% to roughly 81 million, with Executive members (higher‑fee, higher‑spend) growing about 9% to nearly 39 million.
- After the 2024 fee hike, global renewal rates edged slightly lower—to just under 90% worldwide, and a bit above 92% in the U.S. and Canada—but remain extremely high by retail standards.
The same note points out that Costco now carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and a Value Score of “D”, reflecting concern that investors are paying a steep price for those membership economics. [15]
Store growth and digital momentum
Recent earnings commentary and third‑party analysis underline that Costco is still in expansion mode: [16]
- Management expects around 27 warehouse openings (24 net) in the current fiscal year, bringing the footprint to roughly 914 locations worldwide.
- Digital and omnichannel initiatives—from improved e‑commerce comps to buy‑now‑pay‑later partnerships—are contributing a growing share of sales.
This combination of membership growth, footprint expansion, and digital gains is exactly why many analysts still see Costco as one of the highest‑quality consumer staples names on the market.
The big story today: valuation anxiety
The main theme in today’s coverage is not Costco’s operations—it’s what investors are paying for them.
P/E, DCF and “0 out of 6” on value checks
A new Simply Wall St report titled “Is Costco’s 2025 Pullback a Sign of Better Value or Waning Optimism?” lands squarely on the skeptical side: [17]
- It notes that Costco has delivered an approximately 149% total return over five years, but is down slightly year to date and off mid‑single digits in the last 12 months.
- Using a two‑stage discounted cash‑flow (DCF) model, the analysis estimates fair value around $691 per share, implying roughly 30% downside from recent prices.
- On a checklist of traditional valuation metrics, Costco scores 0/6 for being “undervalued.”
- The article highlights a current P/E multiple of about 49x, compared with roughly 21x for the broader consumer‑retailing group and a “fair” Costco multiple closer to 33x based on its growth and risk profile.
That message: the market is still paying a tech‑style multiple for a warehouse club, even after the recent pullback.
Other data sources back up the stretched multiples:
- Trailing P/E: about 48–49x
- Forward P/E: roughly 44x
- Price‑to‑sales: around 1.45x
- Price‑to‑book: in the low‑teens. [18]
Bullish counter‑narrative: quality at a (relative) discount
Not everyone agrees Costco is dangerously overvalued. Another Simply Wall St narrative and a GuruFocus‑sourced piece on TradingView point out that: [19]
- On some models, Costco’s fair value is above today’s price—one narrative pegs it north of $1,050 per share, implying mid‑teens upside.
- The stock is currently down about 14% from its early‑2025 peak, one of the deepest discounts to its highs seen in the last few years.
- Over longer periods, Costco has consistently rewarded shareholders as its membership base scaled and international expansion continued.
From this angle, the recent slide looks less like “bubble territory” and more like a rare chance to buy a dominant retailer below its prior highs—so long as you’re comfortable paying up for quality.
Fresh downgrades and institutional moves
InvestorPlace downgrade of COST
One of today’s more notable headlines comes from InvestorPlace’s Market 360 column, where Louis Navellier updated his rankings for 131 blue‑chip stocks. In that list, Costco was moved into a weaker category, showing up under “Downgraded: Neutral to Weak” with a combined “D” grade on his quantitative and fundamental scoring system. [20]
The article doesn’t single out Costco with a detailed write‑up, but grouping it with names flagged as losing momentum reinforces the idea that Wall Street’s enthusiasm has cooled relative to other mega‑caps.
Weik Capital trims its Costco stake
Separately, MarketBeat reported that Weik Capital Management reduced its holdings in Costco, according to a new institutional filing dated November 24, 2025. [21]
While the position change is modest in the context of Costco’s nearly $400 billion market cap, it fits a broader pattern: some professional investors are quietly reallocating away from highly valued “defensive growth” stories after a multi‑year run.
Zacks: Costco lags while the market climbs
A same‑day note from Zacks titled “Costco (COST) Stock Declines While Market Improves” underscores the near‑term underperformance: COST slipped again on Monday even as major indexes moved higher. [22]
Zacks’ broader view remains cautious, with the firm classifying Costco as a Hold‑rated, premium‑valued retailer rather than a bargain.
Street sentiment: bullish targets, cautious tone
Despite the valuation worries, most Wall Street analysts are still firmly in the bull camp.
According to StockAnalysis, which aggregates brokerage estimates: [23]
- Around 25 analysts rate Costco a “Buy” on average.
- The consensus 12‑month price target sits near $1,064, implying about 20% upside from current levels.
- The lowest published target is just above $900, while the highest reaches into the low‑$1,200s.
By contrast, Zacks assigns Costco a Rank #3 (Hold) and explicitly warns about its “D” Value Score, stressing that the stock trades at a premium to peers on most valuation metrics, even as earnings and sales estimates trend higher. [24]
The takeaway:
- Fundamentals and execution still earn Costco a “high quality” label.
- Entry price and expectations are what divide the bulls and bears.
Key upcoming catalysts for Costco stock
With no new company press release or earnings update out on November 25 itself, investors are looking ahead to several known catalysts: [25]
- November sales report – December 3, 2025
Costco will publish its monthly sales figures, giving an early read on holiday‑season traffic, ticket size, and e‑commerce momentum. Monthly sales releases have moved the stock in the past, especially when digital comps surprise. - Q1 FY 2026 earnings – December 11, 2025
The next quarterly earnings call is scheduled for December 11 after the close. Analysts are looking for another mid‑single‑digit comp‑sales gain and double‑digit EPS growth. Any hint of slowing membership trends, weaker renewal rates, or pressure on gross margins could hit a stock priced this richly. - Macro backdrop and rates
Articles from MarketBeat, TradingView and others note that Costco often shines during economic slowdowns as consumers “trade down” to value. At the same time, DCF‑driven fair‑value estimates are sensitive to interest rates; a meaningful move lower in long‑term yields would mechanically support a higher justified valuation for COST. [26]
What today’s setup means for different types of investors
This is not a recommendation to buy or sell Costco stock, but the current setup tends to divide investors into a few camps:
1. Valuation‑sensitive investors
For investors who refuse to pay elevated multiples, the latest research is likely a red flag:
- DCF work suggests 30% downside to intrinsic value. [27]
- P/E multiple near 49x vs a consumer‑retailing average around 21x. [28]
- Value‑focused screens (Zacks, Simply Wall St) largely classify Costco as overvalued today. [29]
From this lens, Costco is a fantastic company at a demanding price.
2. Quality‑at‑any‑price (QAAP) and long‑term compounders
Long‑term holders and QAAP investors may see the pullback differently:
- Five‑year returns of roughly 150%+ despite this year’s dip. [30]
- Membership income compounding at a double‑digit clip even after a fee hike. [31]
- An expanding global store base, still underpenetrated in many international markets. [32]
For these investors, the question is less “Is Costco cheap?” and more “Is this a reasonable entry point for a business I’m happy to own for a decade?”
3. Traders and tacticians
Shorter‑term traders are watching:
- Whether COST can hold the high‑$870s / low‑$880s zone, which lines up with the lower end of its 52‑week range. [33]
- The December earnings reaction, especially if guidance for FY 2026 diverges from consensus.
- Order‑flow and institutional‑ownership signals, including alerts like the recent Weik Capital stake reduction and order‑flow analytics noted by Benzinga and others. [34]
Bottom line
As of November 25, 2025, Costco stock sits at an interesting crossroads:
- Business: Firing on almost all cylinders, with steady sales growth, rising membership income, and ambitious, but measured, global expansion. [35]
- Stock price: Well below its 2025 highs, but still commanding one of the richest valuations in big‑box retail. [36]
- Sentiment: Split between valuation‑worried analysts and long‑term optimists who see the current pullback as a rare chance to accumulate a world‑class franchise. [37]
With monthly sales due on December 3 and earnings on December 11, investors won’t have to wait long for the next data points that could either validate the lofty multiples—or give valuation skeptics more ammunition.
For now, Costco remains exactly what it has been for years: one of the market’s most admired businesses, and one of its most hotly debated stocks.
References
1. stockanalysis.com, 2. simplywall.st, 3. www.nasdaq.com, 4. simplywall.st, 5. investorplace.com, 6. www.marketbeat.com, 7. finance.yahoo.com, 8. stockanalysis.com, 9. www.financecharts.com, 10. www.financecharts.com, 11. simplywall.st, 12. stockanalysis.com, 13. www.investing.com, 14. www.nasdaq.com, 15. www.nasdaq.com, 16. stockinvest.us, 17. simplywall.st, 18. stockanalysis.com, 19. simplywall.st, 20. investorplace.com, 21. www.marketbeat.com, 22. www.zacks.com, 23. stockanalysis.com, 24. www.nasdaq.com, 25. investor.costco.com, 26. www.investing.com, 27. simplywall.st, 28. simplywall.st, 29. www.nasdaq.com, 30. simplywall.st, 31. www.nasdaq.com, 32. stockinvest.us, 33. stockanalysis.com, 34. www.marketbeat.com, 35. stockanalysis.com, 36. stockanalysis.com, 37. www.zacks.com
