Is COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW (COST) undervalued?
COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW trades on a P/E of 50.31 against earnings growth of 11.5% a year over the last 3 years, giving a PEG ratio of 4.38 — above the 2.0 level conventionally read as expensive relative to growth.
Earnings figures are measured from COST’s filed annual accounts, not estimated. PEG compares price to earnings growth alone — it says nothing about debt, cash generation, or what an acquirer would pay. Read it alongside the figures below rather than on its own.
What it would cost to buy COST
Enterprise value is what it would cost to take the whole company: every share at today’s price, plus the debt an acquirer assumes, less the cash they receive. For COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW that is $392.99B.
Every term below is a line item from a filed statement. The numbers beside each one open the filing it came from — balance-sheet figures arrive already scaled, so there is no “in thousands” to catch you out.
443.5M shares · 10-Q cover page
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Diluted earnings per shareto 2025-08-31 | $18.21 |
| P/E ratioto 2025-08-31 | 50.3 |
| Earnings growth (3-year CAGR)to 2025-08-31 | 11.5% |
| PEG ratioto 2025-08-31 | 4.4 |
| Market capitalisationto 2026-05-27 | $406.27B |
| Total debtto 2026-05-10 | $5.67B |
| Net debtto 2026-05-10 | −$14.33B |
| Enterprise valueto 2026-05-10 | $392.99B |
| EBITDAto 2025-08-31 | $12.81B |
| Free cash flowto 2025-08-31 | $7.84B |
| EV / EBITDAto 2025-08-31 | 30.7× |
| EV / Salesto 2025-08-31 | 1.4× |
| Free cash flow yieldto 2025-08-31 | 1.9% |
| Net debt / EBITDAto 2025-08-31 | −1.1× |
| Return on capital employedto 2025-08-31 | 26.5% |
Earnings growth is measured across COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW’s own filed annual accounts. PEG conventionally uses forecast growth from analyst estimates; filings contain only history, so this is trailing growth and will read differently from a PEG quoted elsewhere.
Against the sector
COST against 4 listed companies sharing its classification — Retail-Variety Stores. A multiple means little on its own; the column that matters is the gap. See what discount retailers trade on.
| Measure | COST | Sector median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| EV / EBITDA* | 30.7× | 10.4× | +20.3× |
| EV / Sales* | 1.4× | 1.0× | +0.4× |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −1.1× | 0.7× | −1.8× |
| Return on capital employed | 26.5% | 18.7% | +7.8% |
| Operating margin | 3.8% | 5.0% | −1.2% |
| Free cash flow margin | 2.8% | 4.1% | −1.2% |
Medians are taken across peers where the measure could be computed, so the sample differs by row. Green marks the direction conventionally read as cheaper or stronger — it is a direction, not a recommendation. * Price-based multiples move with the market; peer figures are a snapshot taken 2026-09-09. The remaining rows come from filed statements and hold until the next reporting season.
Market ratios
Price-based ratios from market data. Anything drawn from a filed statement is in the enterprise-value section above, with its source.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | $916.10 |
| PEGY ratio | — |
| Dividend yield | 0.64% |
| Price / book | — |
| Price / sales | — |
| Return on equity | 29.1% |
| Profit margin | — |
| Operating margin | — |
| Debt / equity | 16.92 |
| Current ratio | — |
| Beta | 0.88 |
| 52-week range | $844.06 – $1096.50 |
Not reported for COST: pegy ratio, price / book, price / sales, profit margin, operating margin, current ratio. A dash means the figure was not available from the source, not that it is zero.
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About COST’s valuation
- What is the PEG ratio for COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW (COST)?
- COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW has a PEG ratio of 4.38, from a P/E of 50.31 and earnings growth of 11.5% a year measured across 3 years of filed accounts. That is above the 2.0 level conventionally read as expensive relative to growth. Note that PEG is conventionally quoted against forecast growth; this uses reported history, so it will differ from a PEG you see elsewhere.
- Is COST undervalued right now?
- That depends on the measure. On PEG, COST reads 4.38, above the 2.0 level conventionally read as expensive relative to growth. The PEG ratio compares price to earnings growth alone — it ignores debt, cash generation and asset backing, so it is a starting point rather than a conclusion. The enterprise-value measures above account for debt and cash; they often tell a different story.
- What is the PEGY ratio for COST?
- The PEGY ratio for COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW is —. PEGY adds the dividend yield of 0.64% to the growth rate in the denominator, which gives a fairer reading of companies returning cash as income rather than growth.
- Where do these COST figures come from?
- Market price and capitalisation come from live market data; earnings, growth and dividend figures come from COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW's published financial statements. Every derived ratio on this page shows the arithmetic that produced it.
This page describes published financial data. It is not investment advice and makes no recommendation to buy or sell COST.