Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting For Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) After Its Yearly Results

It's been a good week for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest yearly results, and the shares gained 3.1% to US$923. Costco Wholesale reported in line with analyst predictions, delivering revenues of US$303b and statutory earnings per share of US$20.76, suggesting the business is executing well and in line with its plan. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

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Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Costco Wholesale's 32 analysts is for revenues of US$328.3b in 2027. This would reflect a decent 8.3% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to increase 9.4% to US$22.78. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$326.6b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$22.66 in 2027. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

View our latest analysis for Costco Wholesale

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of US$1,058, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. There are some variant perceptions on Costco Wholesale, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$1,315 and the most bearish at US$740 per share. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. The period to the end of 2027 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 8.3% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 7.6% annual growth over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 5.0% per year. So although Costco Wholesale is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Costco Wholesale going out to 2029, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.