Stock Spotlight: Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST)
About Costco Wholesale Corp
Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. It offers merchandise, including sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, deli, liquor, and tobacco; non-food merchandise comprising appliances, small electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, lawn and garden, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal, automotive, stamps, tickets, apparel, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and fresh food, such as meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products. The company is also involved in warehouse ancillary operations, which include gasoline, pharmacies, optical, food courts, hearing-aid centers, and tire installation centers. In addition, it engages in e-commerce, business centers, travel, and other businesses. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.
Key Stats
Key Stats
Source: ASX, Yahoo Finance. Data as of 14/11/25.
Price Performance
Growth Potential
- Strong and differentiated business model with membership-fee structure providing a recurring revenue component (membership fees account for ~2% of revenue but ~70-80% of operating income) and warehouse club model (limited SKUs allows to focus on high-turn, high value items and negotiate with suppliers) helping maintain operational simplicity, giving it steadier cash flows and less dependence solely on merchandise margin expansion. COST leverages its scale and passes cost savings onto members (vs maximizing margins), which builds loyalty (membership renewal rates are exceptionally high - ~93% U.S./Canada and ~90% worldwide).
- Scale-driven cost leadership and pricing power with limited SKU count (~4000 vs 100,000 for typical retailers) and high turnover rate enabling unmatched purchasing power and supply-chain efficiency.
- Durability across economic cycles with COST performing well in recessions (because of its perceived value proposition of “premium goods at warehouse prices”) and inflationary environments (fixed markup model means customers trust company to protect them from price gouging, increasing traffic and renewal rates).
- Consistent growth with same-store sales (ex-fuel and ex-FX) having grown mid-to-high single digits annually for much of the last decade while e-commerce, although a smaller mix, is growing double-digits. Operating leverage is achieved by scaling membership fees and improving procurement efficiency.
- High quality – high ROIC (consistently >20%), net cash, and disciplined capital allocation (organic growth, modest buybacks and member-focused investments).
- COST can increase membership fees, which should drop directly to the bottom line. COST has not raised prices since 2017 - historically it raises prices every 5-6 yrs.
Key Risks
- Low margin business / Macroeconomic headwinds (inflation, recession).
- Store saturation and maturity risk (incremental growth from square footage may taper and same-store sales growth can flatten).
- Supply chain risks especially with new international operations.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute financial advice nor a recommendation to invest in the securities listed. The information presented is intended to be of a factual nature only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. As always, do your own research and consider seeking financial, legal and taxation advice before investing.
Stay updated on Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) with stock updates, technical analysis, forecasts & insights. See if WBC aligns with your investment goals.
Explore expert insights on ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:ANZ) stocks, including share price trends, dividends, growth potential & investment strategies.
About Crowdstrike Holdings Inc CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. provides cybersecurity solutions in the United States and internationally. Its unified platform provides cloud-delivered protection of endpoints, cloud workloads, identity, and data through a software as a service (SaaS) subscription-based model. The company offers corporate endpoint and cloud workload security, managed security, security and vulnerability management, IT operations management, identity protection, threat intelligence, data protection, SaaS security posture management, and AI powered workflow automation, and securing generative AI workload services, as well as security orchestration, automation, and response; and security information and event management, and log management services. It primarily sells subscriptions to its Falcon platform and cloud modules. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Key Stats
About NVIDIA Corp NVIDIA Corporation, a computing infrastructure company, provides graphics and compute and networking solutions in the United States, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and internationally. The Compute & Networking segment includes its Data Centre accelerated computing platforms and artificial intelligence solutions and software; networking; automotive platforms and autonomous and electric vehicle solutions; Jetson for robotics and other embedded platforms; and DGX Cloud computing services. The Graphics segment offers GeForce GPUs for gaming and PCs, the GeForce NOW game streaming service and related infrastructure, and solutions for gaming platforms; Quadro/NVIDIA RTX GPUs for enterprise workstation graphics; virtual GPU or vGPU software for cloud-based visual and virtual computing; automotive platforms for infotainment systems; and Omniverse software for building and operating industrial AI and digital twin applications. It also customized agentic solutions designed in collaboration with NVIDIA to accelerate enterprise AI adoption. The company's products are used in gaming, professional visualization, data center, and automotive markets. It sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, original device manufacturers, system integrators and distributors, independent software vendors, cloud service providers, consumer internet companies, add-in board manufacturers, distributors, automotive manufacturers and tier-1 automotive suppliers, and other ecosystem participants. NVIDIA Corporation was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Key Stats
About Visa Inc. Visa Inc. operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, bank accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services. The company also provides acceptance solutions, which include Cybersource and Authorize.net that provides new and enhanced payment integrations with ecommerce platforms, enabling sellers and acquirers to offer tailored commerce experiences; risk and identity solutions, such as Visa Advanced Authorization, Visa Secure, Visa Consumer Authentication Service, Visa Protect Authentication Intelligence, and Visa Provisioning Intelligence; and Visa Consulting and Analytics, a payment consulting advisory services. It provides its services under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink, V PAY, and PLUS brands. The company serves merchants, financial institutions, and government entities. Visa Inc. was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Key Stats
About Premier Investment Premier Investments Limited operates various specialty retail fashion chains in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Europe. It operates through two segments, Retail and Investment. The company offers sleepwear, school, lifestyle, and stationery products under the Peter Alexander and Smiggle brand names. It sells its products through retail stores, as well as through wholesale and online channels. In addition, the company invests in securities. Premier Investments Limited was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Melbourne, Australia. Key Stats
About Ferrari NV Ferrari N.V., through its subsidiaries, engages in design, engineering, production, and sale of luxury performance sports cars worldwide. The company offers sports, track, one-off, and road cars, as well as supercars. It also provides spare parts and engines, as well as after sales, repair, maintenance, and restoration services for cars; and licenses its Ferrari brand to various producers and retailers of luxury and lifestyle goods. In addition, the company operates Ferrari museums in Modena and Maranello; Il Cavallino restaurant in Maranello; and theme parks in Abu Dhabi and Spain. Further, it provides direct or indirect finance and leasing services; range of financial and ancillary services; special financing arrangements; and operates franchised and owned Ferrari stores. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Maranello, Italy. Key Stats
With gold near record levels, discover what’s driving the rally and how it’s shaping global markets and investor behaviour.
About Amcor Plc Amcor plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and sale of packaging products in Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Global Flexible Packaging Solutions and Global Rigid Packaging Solutions. The Global Flexible Packaging Solutions segment develops and supplies flexible packaging products, including polymer resin, aluminum, and fiber based flexible packaging products to the food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, fresh produce, snack food, personal care, and other industries. The Global Rigid Packaging Solutions segment manufactures rigid packaging containers, closures, dispensing and pharma devices, and related products for the food and beverage applications. The company sells its products through its direct sales force. The company was incorporated in 1926 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Key Stats
Heightened US–China trade tensions trigger a USD 2 trillion market sell-off. Explore the market fallout and the implications for investors.
