Issaquah, Washington-based Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. With a market cap of $421.1 billion, Costco operates through its outlets spread across North America, Asia, and Europe, and an e-commerce website.

Companies worth $200 billion or more are generally described as "mega-cap stocks." Costco fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size, influence, and dominance in the discount retail industry.

Costco stock touched its all-time high of $1,078.23 on Feb. 13 and is currently trading 12.4% below that peak. COST stock has declined nearly 6.7% over the past three months, notably underperforming the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLP) 1.9% dip during the same time frame.

However, over the long term, Costco has notably outperformed the consumer staples sector. COST stock has gained 6.4% over the past 52 weeks and 3.1% on a YTD basis, compared to XLP’s 2.4% decline over the past year and 2.1% uptick in 2025.

To confirm the uptrend and recent downturn, Costco traded mostly above its 200-day moving average over the past year until mid-July. Moreover, the stock has also remained mostly below its 50-day moving average since mid-June.

Costco Wholesale’s stock prices gained 3.1% in the trading session following the release of its better-than-expected Q3 results on May 29. The company observed high single-digit growth in store sales across regions and a 14.8% growth in e-commerce revenues. Overall, its revenues for the quarter came in at $63.2 billion, up 8% year-over-year and surpassing the Street estimates by a thin margin. Further, its EPS for the quarter surged 13.2% year-over-year to $4.28, exceeding the consensus estimates by 71 bps.

While Costco’s financials have remained impressive in recent quarters, the company faces a serious threat of macro slowdown. The consumer spending in the US has substantially slowed down in recent months, and the job market has also remained pale, alongside the new tariffs can further dampen prospects for the discount retail industry.

Meanwhile, Costco has significantly underperformed its peer Walmart Inc.’s (WMT) 26.3% surge over the past 52 weeks and 6.4% gains in 2025.

Nevertheless, Costco maintains a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating among the 34 analysts covering the stock. Its mean price target of $1,092.44 represents a 15.6% premium to current price levels.