Costco Stock Moves Higher After Q1 Earnings Beat

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) is experiencing an increase in its stock price this Friday following the release of its earnings report for the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year on Thursday.

Key Highlights: Costco reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.82, which surpassed analyst expectations of $3.79. Additionally, the company’s sales reached $62.15 billion, outpacing analyst forecasts of $62.08 billion. This represents a notable year-over-year growth of 7.5%.

The company also shared that it achieved an overall comparable sales growth of 5.2%. Breaking this down, the U.S. recorded a comparable sales growth of 5.2%, while Canada saw 5.8%, other international regions totaled 4.7%, and e-commerce surged with a growth of 13.0%. These numbers do not consider the fluctuations caused by changes in gasoline prices or foreign exchange rates.

Costco highlighted a significant aspect of its earnings: they included a $100 million tax benefit related to stock-based compensation, which equates to an additional 22 cents per diluted share. Notably, the company is currently operating 897 warehouses worldwide, including 617 in the U.S. and 109 in Canada.

Analyst Adjustments: Following the stellar earnings report, several analysts have modified their price targets for Costco stock:

• Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman has maintained an Outperform rating with a price target of $1050.
• Evercore ISI Group analyst Greg Melich also maintained an Outperform rating, raising their price target from $1020 to $1030.
• Roth MKM analyst Bill Kirk kept a Neutral rating and adjusted the price target up from $755 to $907.
• BMO Capital analyst Kelly Bania reinforced their Outperform rating and increased the price target from $1075 to $1175.
• Loop Capital analyst Laura Champine maintained a Buy rating while raising the price target from $1005 to $1095.

COST Stock Performance: As of the latest data, Costco stock has risen by 1.01%, trading at $997.50.

Costco, Earnings, Stocks