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Wells Fargo Trims Costco (COST) Target Amid Mixed Retail Backdrop

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is included among the 13 Best Debt Free Dividend Stocks to Buy Now.

Niloo / Shutterstock.com

On December 19, Wells Fargo analyst Edward Kelly lowered the firm’s price target on Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) to $900 from $1,000 and kept an Equal Weight rating. The firm sees a mixed setup for 2026 across the group, though opportunity remains. Wells is constructive on broadlines and food service. Fiscal and tariff-related trade activity is already in motion, and momentum looks sustainable through the first half of EPS revisions. Food retail appears more challenging, and company-specific drivers will matter more than sector trends.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)’s membership model continues to stand out. Renewal rates in the US and Canada have stayed above 90% quarter after quarter. That matters, since more than 700 of the company’s 923 warehouses are located in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada. A large, stable member base provides clearer visibility into future earnings.

The company offers two membership tiers: Gold Star at $65 and Executive at $130. More members are choosing to upgrade. In the most recent quarter, executive memberships rose more than 9% from the prior year. That trend supports higher fee income and deeper customer engagement.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) now operates 923 warehouses worldwide, with roughly two-thirds in the US, its core market. Scale has not slowed growth. In fiscal Q1 2026, which ended November 23, net sales reached $66 billion. Management continues to invest for the long term, with plans to open 28 net new warehouses in fiscal 2026.

There is still room to grow domestically, and international markets offer additional upside. China remains an area of interest. That expansion path supports revenue growth in 2026 and beyond and helps explain why investors continue to focus on the durability of the model.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) operates membership warehouse clubs with a simple goal of offering members strong value on quality, brand-name merchandise.

While we acknowledge the potential of COST as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than COST and that has a 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: Dividend Achievers List: Top 16 Stocks and 13 Top Tech Stocks Paying Consistent Dividends.

Disclosure: None.

The $250 Trillion AI Hype is Real. A few years from now, you’ll probably wish you’d bought this stock.

Dr. Inan Dogan

Dr. Ian Dogan

Co-Founder and Research Director at Insider Monkey

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.

Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:

  • 175 Teslas
  • 107 Amazons
  • 140 Metas
  • 84 Googles
  • 65 Microsofts
  • And 55 Nvidias

And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.

It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.

Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.

How could anything be worth that much?

The answer lies in a breakthrough so powerful it’s redefining how humanity works, learns, and creates.

And this breakthrough has already set off a frenzy among hedge funds and Wall Street’s top investors.

What most investors don’t realize is that one under-owned company holds the key to this $250 trillion revolution.

In fact, Verge argues this company’s supercheap AI technology should concern rivals.

Before I reveal the details, let’s talk about how some of the richest people on the planet are positioning themselves.

  • Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
  • Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
  • Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.

When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.

Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…

But the real story isn’t Nvidia — it’s a much smaller company quietly improving the critical technology that makes this entire revolution possible.

And judging by what I’m hearing from both Silicon Valley insiders and Wall Street veterans…

This prediction might not be bold at all:

A few years from now, you’ll wish you’d owned this stock.

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Wall Street calls this $3 stock a “Melting Ice Cube.” They said the same thing about BTI before it returned 90%.

Dr. Inan Dogan

Dr. Ian Dogan

Co-Founder and Research Director at Insider Monkey

My name is Inan Dogan. I’m the co-founder and Research Director of Insider Monkey. I have an important message for you today.

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We alerted our subscribers, and BTI returned 90% in just 16 months.

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Today, we have identified a nearly identical pattern in a digital-first giant trading at $3.

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