Costco Wholesale Corporation logo COST - Costco Wholesale Corporation

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Buy DETAILS
STRONG
BUY
0
BUY 38
HOLD 19
SELL 1
STRONG
SELL
0
| PRICE TARGET: $1,103.58 DETAILS
HIGH: $1,275.00
LOW: $1,000.00
MEDIAN: $1,100.00
CONSENSUS: $1,103.58
UPSIDE: 16.72%
AlphaVal

AlphaVal

Deterministic, archetype-aware fair value

Stable Earnings Power 80% confidence

Primary model: P/Adj-EPS × Normalized Multiple

Valuation Signal Overvalued Moderate
Trading 35.5% above fair value
Current Price $945.47
Bear Case $574.65 39.2% downside ($574.65 - $945.47) / $945.47 = -39.2% $18.21 × 32x P/E
Fair Value $697.79 26.2% downside ($697.79 - $945.47) / $945.47 = -26.2% $18.21 × 38x P/E
Bull Case $820.93 13.2% downside ($820.93 - $945.47) / $945.47 = -13.2% $18.21 × 45x P/E

Adjust Assumptions

38.3x
18.21$

Key Value Driver

Normalized P/E multiple (38x base case)

Implied Market Multiple 51.9x

Plain-Language Summary

Applying a 38x P/E to adjusted EPS of $18.21, the base-case value is $697.79 per share.

Analyst Consensus (External Reference)

Never blended into the bear/base/bull estimates above -- shown only as an outside comparison.

Average Target (58 analysts) $1103.58
Analyst Range $1000.00 – $1275.00
Divergence from AlphaVal 37%

Warnings

Wall Street's average price target is $1103.58 (from 58 analysts). Our estimate is 37% below the consensus -- consider that gap carefully.

Key Risks

  • Growth DCF inappropriate — terminal value assumptions dominate
  • EV/EBITDA misleading for regulated businesses where capex is mandated
  • Regulatory risk is a fat tail not visible in normal multiples