Trading Costco After Fiscal Q4 2024 Performance
Costco Wholesale is an American multinational company which operates a worldwide chain of membership-only big-box retail stores. Ranked number 11 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations in the United States by revenue, Costco is also the world's third-largest retailer.
Learn more about Costco's fiscal fourth-quarter 2024 performance and what analysts are forecasting for the stock.
| Stock: | Costco Wholesale Corp. |
| Symbol for Invest.MT5 Account: | COST |
| Date of Idea: | 1 October 2024 |
| Time Line: | 1 - 6 months |
| Entry Level: | $915.00 |
| Target Level: | $1,061.00 |
| Position Size for Invest.MT5 Account: | Max 5% |
| Risk: | High |
- The Invest.MT5 account allows you to buy real stocks and shares from some of the largest stock exchanges in the world.
All trading is high risk and you can lose more than you risk on a trade. Never invest more than you can afford to lose, as some trades will lose and some trades will win. Start small to understand your own risk tolerance levels or practice on a demo account first to build your knowledge before investing.
Costco Fiscal Q4 2024 Performance
Here are some of the key highlights from the fiscal fourth-quarter 2024 earnings report from Costco:
- Earnings per share of $5.29 vs $5.07 expected
- Revenue up 1% to $78.2 billion
- E-commerce sales up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis
- Same-store sales up 5.4%
- Average transaction revenue fell 0.9% worldwide and 0.3% in the US
Costco beat analyst expectations on most financial performance metrics. However, it narrowly missed expectations on revenue as growth stalled. While e-commerce sales were up 18.9%, the pace of growth has stalled as it was over 20% in the previous quarter. Same-store sales saw growth in the US and Canada but is still lower than the prior quarter.
This was the first report which included the retailer's hike in membership fees. While the management team stated it didn't impact its results, it is a trend to watch as it could affect its earnings moving forward. The team also stated it has started to attract more customers under 40 to purchase its memberships.
The most in-demand items for the quarter were gold, jewellery, toys, gift cards and new higher-end beauty products. Only discounted food items performed well in the quarter while the team said customers were waiting for deals on appliances and electronics.
There are fears that the prospect of an East Coast port strike will affect the upcoming holiday season. Workers and employers are yet to come to terms but there is hope a deal can be struck by the end of the month. If not, it may cause severe shipping delays and affect earnings moving forward. This could be one reason why some analysts are now moving from a buy to hold rating on the stock as highlighted below.
Costco Stock Forecast - What do the Analysts Say?
According to 24 analysts polled by TipRanks for an Costco stock forecast in the past 3 months, there are currently 16 buy, 8 hold and 0 sell ratings on the stock. The highest price level for a Costco stock forecast is $1,061.00 with the lowest price target at $755.00.
The average price target for a Costco stock forecast is $935.86.
An Example Trading Idea for the Costco Stock Price
An example trading idea for the Costco share price could be as follows:
- Buy the stock on a break above its pre-earnings high at $915.00 to allow for volatility.
- Target just below the highest analyst price target of $1,061.00.
- Keep your risk small at a maximum of 5% of your total account.
- Time Line = 1 – 6 months
- If you buy 10 Costco shares:
- If target is reached = $1,460.00 potential profit [($1,061.00 - $915.00) * 10 shares].
Remember that markets go up and down and it is unlikely the share price will move up in a straight line. In fact, it may even go much further down before it rises, especially as there are signs of growth stalling and the prospect of an East Coast port strike.
Be sure to exercise good risk management and always know how much you could potentially lose on a trade and the risks involved, as well as the costs.
With the Admirals Invest.MT5 account you can buy and sell US stocks with a commission from $0.02 per share. This means buying 10 shares in Costco stock would result in a commission of $0.20 ($0.02 * 10 shares) for executing a per-side transaction.
However, there is a low minimum transaction fee of $1. So, the example trading idea above would result in a commission of just $1 overall.
How to Buy Costco Stock in 4 Steps
With Admirals, you can buy shares with a commission of just $0.02 per share and a low minimum commission of just $1 on US stocks.
- Open an account with Admirals to access the dashboard.
- Click on Trade or Invest on one of your live or demo accounts to open the web platform.
- Search for your stock in the search window at the top.
- Input your entry, stop-loss and take profit levels in the trading ticket.
Click on the banner below to trade Costco stock today ▼▼▼
Do You See the Costco Stock Price Moving Differently?
Remember that all analytics and trading ideas are based on the personal view and experience of the author.
If you believe there is a higher chance Costco share price will move lower, then you can also trade short from a CFD (Contracts for Difference) trading account which Admirals also provide.
The Trade.MT5 and Trade.MT4 account allows you to speculate on the price direction of stocks and shares using CFDs.
This means you can trade long and short to potentially profit from rising and falling stock prices.
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