Costco Wholesale
Financial ratios & Valuation

Forward Multiples (2026 – 2028)

Years

	2026	2027	2028
Price/Earnings ratio	29.02	24.77	21.45
Price/Sales ratio	0.84	0.79	0.73
Earnings per Share (EPS)	$19.40	$22.72	$26.25

Historical Multiples (2015 – 2024)

Years

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	TTM	Median
Valuation Ratios
Price/Earnings ratio	25.89	30.60	25.89	32.61	35.42	38.42	40.34	40.31	38.39	53.77	55.07	35.42
Price/Sales ratio Price/Sales ratio The P/E ratio and P/S reflects how many times investors are paying for every dollar of a company's sales. Since earnings are subject, to one degree or another, to accounting estimates and management manipulation, many investors consider a company's sales (revenue) figure a more reliable ratio component in calculating a stock's price multiple than the earnings figure. $\frac{StockPricePerShare}{RevenuePerShare}$	0.52	0.60	0.53	0.72	0.84	0.92	1.03	1.03	0.99	1.55	1.61	0.84
Price/Book Value ratio	5.79	5.95	6.43	7.98	8.50	8.41	11.50	11.41	9.64	16.76	17.06	8.50
Price/Cash Flow ratio	14.36	21.84	10.31	17.70	20.39	17.35	22.55	31.87	21.82	34.93	41.94	20.39
Price/Free Cash Flow ratio	32.52	111.84	16.42	36.44	38.60	25.41	37.61	67.29	35.81	59.75	83.19	38.60
Price/Earnings Growth ratio Price/Earnings Growth ratio The PEG ratio is a refinement of the P/E ratio and factors in a stock's estimated earnings growth into its current valuation.The general consensus is that if the PEG ratio indicates a value of 1, this means that the market is correctly valuing (the current P/E ratio) a stock in accordance with the stock's current estimated earnings per share growth. If the PEG ratio is less than 1, this means that EPS growth is potentially able to surpass the market's current valuation. In other words, the stock's price is being undervalued. On the other hand, stocks with high PEG ratios can indicate just the opposite - that the stock is currently overvalued. $\frac{PriceEarningsRatio}{ExpectedRevenueGrowth}$	1.68	-33.11	1.85	1.91	2.16	4.37	1.62	2.43	5.00	3.15	-2.55	4.37
Dividend Yield Dividend Yield Income investors value a dividend-paying stock, while growth investors have little interest in dividends, preferring to capture large capital gains. Whatever your investing style, it is a matter of historical record that dividend-paying stocks have performed better than non-paying-dividend stocks over the long term. $\frac{DividendPerShare}{StockPricePerShare}$	4.65%	1.03%	5.62%	0.67%	0.80%	0.96%	2.84%	0.63%	0.51%	2.28%	0.47%	0.96%

Profitability Indicator Ratios
Gross Profit Margin	13.02%	13.32%	13.28%	13.01%	12.97%	13.08%	12.88%	12.14%	12.25%	12.61%	12.67%	13.08%
Operating Profit Margin	3.11%	3.09%	3.18%	3.16%	3.10%	3.25%	3.42%	3.43%	3.34%	3.64%	3.66%	3.10%
Pretax Profit Margin	3.10%	3.04%	3.13%	3.13%	3.12%	3.21%	3.40%	3.45%	3.50%	3.82%	3.84%	3.12%
Net Profit Margin	2.04%	1.97%	2.07%	2.21%	2.39%	2.39%	2.55%	2.57%	2.59%	2.89%	2.92%	2.39%
Effective Tax Rate	33.15%	34.34%	32.80%	28.43%	22.26%	24.37%	23.96%	24.55%	25.86%	24.36%	23.78%	22.26%
Return on Assets	7.19%	7.08%	7.37%	7.67%	8.05%	7.20%	8.44%	9.10%	9.11%	10.54%	10.32%	8.05%
Return On Equity	22.38%	19.45%	24.85%	24.48%	24.00%	21.88%	28.50%	28.31%	25.10%	31.18%	33.44%	24.00%
Return on Capital Employed	21.99%	20.87%	21.80%	21.43%	21.37%	17.69%	22.48%	24.22%	22.91%	27.01%	27.05%	21.37%

Liquidity Ratios
Current Ratio	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.97	N/A
Quick Ratio Quick Ratio The quick ratio is more conservative than the current ratio because it excludes inventory and other current assets, which generally are more difficult to turn into cash. A higher quick ratio means a more liquid current position. $\frac{CashAndCashEquivalents + ShortTermInvestments + AccountReceivables}{CurrentLiabilities}$	0.47	0.40	0.42	0.46	0.52	0.63	0.51	0.46	0.57	0.43	0.43	0.63
Cash ratio	0.29	0.21	0.25	0.30	0.36	0.49	0.38	0.31	0.40	0.27	0.28	0.49
Days of Sales Outstanding	3.84	3.84	4.05	4.30	3.66	3.39	3.35	3.60	3.44	3.90	4.17	3.66
Days of Inventory outstanding	32.17	31.81	32.08	32.72	31.29	30.82	30.39	32.78	28.58	30.60	33.88	31.29
Operating Cycle	36.01	35.66	36.13	37.02	34.96	34.22	33.75	36.38	32.03	34.51	38.05	34.96
Days of Payables Outstanding	32.54	27.00	31.34	33.30	32.07	35.68	34.80	32.67	30.01	31.87	35.19	32.07
Cash Conversion Cycle Cash Conversion Cycle The cash conversion cycle (CCC = DSO + DIO – DPO) measures the number of days a company's cash is tied up in the production and sales process of its operations and the benefit it derives from payment terms from its creditors. The shorter this cycle, the more liquid the company's working capital position is. The CCC is also known as the "cash" or "operating" cycle. $(DSO+DIO-DPO)$	3.47	8.66	4.78	3.71	2.88	-1.46	-1.05	3.71	2.01	2.63	2.86	-1.46

Debt Ratios
Debt Ratio	0.18	0.15	0.18	0.16	0.15	0.13	0.12	0.10	0.09	0.08	0.07	0.13
Debt Equity Ratio	0.57	0.42	0.61	0.51	0.44	0.41	0.42	0.31	0.25	0.24	0.23	0.41
Long-term Debt to Capitalization	0.31	0.25	0.37	0.33	0.25	0.29	0.27	0.23	0.17	0.19	0.19	0.29
Total Debt to Capitalization	0.36	0.29	0.38	0.33	0.30	0.29	0.29	0.24	0.20	0.19	0.19	0.29
Interest Coverage Ratio	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	72.49	N/A
Cash Flow to Debt Ratio	0.69	0.63	1.01	0.87	0.93	1.16	1.19	1.12	1.71	1.92	1.73	0.93
Company Equity Multiplier	3.10	2.74	3.37	3.19	2.97	3.03	3.37	3.10	2.75	2.95	3.00	2.97

Cash Flow Ratios
Operating Cash Flow / Sales Ratio	0.03	0.02	0.05	0.04	0.04	0.05	0.04	0.03	0.04	0.04	0.03	0.05
Free Cash Flow / Operating Cash Flow Ratio	0.44	0.19	0.62	0.48	0.52	0.68	0.59	0.47	0.60	0.58	0.50	0.68
Cash Flow Coverage Ratio	0.69	0.63	1.01	0.87	0.93	1.16	1.19	1.12	1.71	1.92	1.73	0.93
Short Term Coverage Ratio	3.33	2.99	78.20	64.15	3.74	93.27	11.21	101.26	10.23	110.08	N/A	93.27
Dividend Payout Ratio	120.53%	31.74%	145.72%	21.98%	28.36%	36.95%	114.79%	25.63%	19.88%	122.72%	114.18%	28.36%

Costco Wholesale Financial ratios & Valuation

Forward Multiples (2026 – 2028)

Historical Multiples (2015 – 2024)

Costco Wholesale
Financial ratios & Valuation