Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) earnings on May 28, 2026
More Costco Wholesale Corporation earnings
Prior outlook: Optimistic Outcome: Missed
COST stock dropped significantly after its earnings report, despite an initial small gain. The market reacted negatively, pushing the price down.
COST price around the earnings
958.09
Change: -3.7%
2026-05-30, 00:00 UTC
- Price: green if it ends above the starting price; red if it ends below
- Start of the measured window
- End of the measured window
- Market open
- No trading (market closed)
- Starting price
Prior thesis
Prior outlook: Optimistic Outcome: Missed
- Thesis published
Analysts positive, but recent surge raises caution.
Analysts are confident, with most rating the stock a buy and the scenario tending to be optimistic. However, the stock has recently surged, increasing the risk of a 'sell the news' event after the earnings report.
Context analyzed before publication
- Summary
- Analysts are optimistic, but the recent surge introduces a more cautious scenario.
- Reasoning
- Analysts are confident, with most rating the stock a buy. However, the stock has recently surged, increasing the risk of a 'sell the news' event after the earnings report.
- Playbook
- The scenario points to a recent price surge and the potential for a short-term pullback after the earnings announcement. Analyst ratings and price targets are key factors for shifts in sentiment.
- Trend
- Sharp run-up into earnings, risk of sell-the-news.
Analysts
Drivers
-
Analysts
Positive
Analysts have a strong buy rating. The scenario is optimistic for future performance. Analysts point to an optimistic scenario for price movement.
Evidence
- Analyst consensus
- Buy
- Consensus average (1-5)
- 1.97
- Analysts covering the stock
- 32
- Average price target
- 1,076.97
- Lowest price target
- 650
- Highest price target
- 1,315
- Upside to price target
- 7.3%
- Quarterly earnings growth
- 45.6%
- Revenue growth
- 21.5%
- Forward EPS
- 22.54
- Trailing EPS
- 19.27
- Analyst moves in the last 60 days
- 6
- Strong buy: 3
- Buy: 19
- Hold: 12
- Sell: 2
- Strong sell: 0
- Strong buy
- 3
- Buy
- 19
- Hold
- 12
- Sell
- 2
- Strong sell
- 0
- May 20, 2026 · UBS: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
- May 19, 2026 · Oppenheimer: Maintains rating (Outperform → Outperform)
- April 10, 2026 · DA Davidson: Maintains rating (Neutral → Neutral)
- April 9, 2026 · Telsey Advisory Group: Maintains rating (Outperform → Outperform)
- April 9, 2026 · Wells Fargo: Maintains rating (Equal-Weight → Equal-Weight)
- March 31, 2026 · Telsey Advisory Group: Maintains rating (Outperform → Outperform)
News and sentiment
Drivers
-
News & sentiment
Neutral
Current news focuses on the upcoming earnings report. There are no strong contexts yet to indicate a clear direction for the stock price.
Evidence
Sentiment
- Sentiment
- Constructive
- Mention volume
- Low
- Normalized volume
- 33%
News
Sources (6)
- Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow Futures Decline As US And Iran Exchange Strikes— Snowfalke, Salesforce, Costco In Focus — Benzinga
- Costco Gears Up For Q3 Print; Here Are The Recent Forecast Changes From Wall Street's Most Accurate Analysts — Benzinga
- Best Buy, Snowflake And 3 Stocks To Watch Heading Into Thursday — Benzinga
- Costco Q3 Preview: Stock Could Hit $1,200 Or Fall To $960, Market Expert Says 'Prudent To Wait This One Out' — Benzinga
- Why Costco Stock Is Dipping On Tuesday? — Benzinga
- Top 4 S&P 500 Stocks To Watch Next Week: CRM, MRVL, COST, DELL — Benzinga
Technicals
Drivers
-
Technical
Neutral
The stock's recent price movement shows moderate gains. It is currently market review near a price level that has previously acted as resistance.
Evidence
- Average true range (ATR)
- 2.3%
- Distance to 52-week high
- -8.5%
- 14-day change (14d)
- +0.8%
- 30-day change (30d)
- +3.0%
- 30-day relative strength
- +3.0%
- Benchmark change (0d)
- +0.0%
- Nearest support
- 1,002.41
- Nearest resistance
- 1,007.38
- Volume accumulation ratio (14d / 46d)
- 4.47
Trends
Evidence
- Average earnings surprise
- +2.0%
- March 5, 2026: actual EPS 4.58 vs estimate 4.55 (surprise +0.7%)
- December 11, 2025: actual EPS 4.5 vs estimate 4.28 (surprise +5.2%)
- September 25, 2025: actual EPS 5.87 vs estimate 5.8 (surprise +1.2%)
- May 29, 2025: actual EPS 4.28 vs estimate 4.24 (surprise +0.9%)
Expected move
Drivers
-
Past earnings
Positive
The company consistently outperforms expectations, beating past earnings reports. This suggests reliable operational execution.
There is no implied-move data available for this event.
Reactions over its last 19 earnings
- Median move
- 1.8%
- 75th percentile move
- 3.9%
- 90th percentile move
- 6.3%
- Up / down moves
- 11 / 8
- Average up move
- +2.2%
- Average down move
- -3.3%
Monitoring and close
What Costco Wholesale Corporation reported
There is no monitoring data available for this event.
Pre-market second reading after the results
There is no second reading available for this event.
How the stock reacted
- Outcome
- Missed
- Consolidated
- -3.9%
- Max favorable move (MFE)
- 1%
- Max adverse move (MAE)
- 5%