Costco's September Comps Strengthen, but Shares Already Price in Growth, RBC Says

MT newswire2026/10/09 15:00

11:00 AM EDT, 10/09/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Costco Wholesale (COST) September comparable sales accelerated from August, but the stock's valuation already reflects much of the company's growth outlook, RBC Capital Markets said in a report Friday, following a visit to the retailer's headquarters. September adjusted comparable sales excluding fuel and foreign-exchange effects accelerated to 7.6% from 5.4% in August, while traffic also improved. Paid membership growth and renewal-rate trends appear "stable," although the firm does not expect those metrics to improve "materially" in the near term, according to the report. Costco is expected to reinvest substantially all of its tariff refunds into the customer experience, but management is not assuming a "meaningful" companywide sales lift from that spending. The firm also highlighted growing traffic from "AI search," plans to open about "30 new warehouses" annually and the potential for a "special dividend," according to the report. RBC has a sector-perform rating on Costco with a price target of $1,000, saying the company is positioned for continued market-share gains, but at about 40 times its fiscal 2028 earnings per share estimate, "the positives are appropriately reflected in the share price." Price: 945.73, Change: -2.19, Percent Change: -0.23

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