Citi Lifts Costco Price Target to $1,000 on Q2 Sales and Earnings Beat
Citi raised Costco’s price target to $1,000 from $990 and maintained a Neutral rating after the retailer beat expectations with modest same-store sales gains in fiscal Q2. In fiscal Q1, the company delivered net income of $2.001 billion (+11.3% YoY) on net sales of $65.98 billion (+8.2%).
1. Price Target Revision
On February 20, Citi analyst Steven Zaccone raised Costco’s price target to $1,000 from $990 while maintaining a Neutral rating, citing a modest same-store sales and earnings beat in fiscal second quarter results.
2. Fiscal First-Quarter 2026 Results
Costco reported net income of $2.001 billion, or $4.50 per diluted share, compared with $1.798 billion, or $4.04 per share, in the prior year; excluding certain tax-related items, EPS rose 13.6%. Net sales increased 8.2% year over year to $65.98 billion, and comparable sales were up 6.4%, driven in part by a 20.5% jump in digitally enabled transactions.
3. Membership Growth and Warehouse Expansion
Membership fee income climbed 14% to $1.329 billion as members upgraded to higher‐tier executive plans. Costco opened eight new warehouses in the quarter, raising its global count to 921 locations, and plans to add more than 30 net new warehouses annually in the coming years.