Goldman Lifts Costco (COST) Price Target After Steady Q3 Results

Following Costco Wholesale Corp.’s (NASDAQ:COST) Q3 FY 2025 earnings results, a Goldman Sachs analyst reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and slightly raised the price target to $1,133 from $1,118. Among the encouraging trends, the analyst noted that the company’s total same-store sales (SSS) grew 8%, surpassing his estimate of 6.8%, driven by notable strength in fresh food and non-food categories.

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Costco’s Q3 results, reported on May 29, came in only modestly ahead of consensus expectations. However, they were viewed favorably in light of weaker performance reported by several other consumer-facing companies. Net sales rose 8% year-over-year to approximately $62 billion, while earnings per share (EPS) reached $4.28, both modestly ahead of expectations.

While the company continues its expansion plans and aims to open 27 stores this fiscal year, the results suggest that its pricing and supply-chain strategies are helping it maintain profitability despite concerns over consumers’ spending.

According to the Goldman analyst, Costco is working out a strategy to mitigate the impact of tariffs and views price hikes as a last resort. Meanwhile, the company also maintained its strong market positioning as its membership base remained steady. Costco also reported a 16% increase in e-commerce sales, which helped offset softness in other parts of the business.

Costco Wholesale Corporation is among the world’s largest retailers, operating a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of May 2025, it operates 905 warehouses worldwide, with 86% of them being in North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico).

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