Is Costco Stock a Buy as Sales Continue to Sizzle?

**Costco Wholesale **(COST 0.53%) continues to roll along, with the warehouse club retailer once again reporting stellar sales growth, this time with its fiscal 2026 second-quarter results. The stock has had a good start to the year, trading up more than 17% in 2026, but it is up just 4.7% over the past year.

Let’s take a closer look at the retailer’s results (for the quarter ending Feb. 15, 2026) and prospects to see if the stock is a buy.

Image source: Getty Images.

Costco sales continue to sizzle

Costco once again delivered a strong quarter, led by robust e-commerce sales. Digital revenue soared 22.6%, with traffic jumping 32% and average order value up 15%. App traffic, meanwhile, surged 63%. The company credited a more personalized marketing and shopping experience for the growth

Overall, the company’s fiscal Q1 revenue increased 9% year over year to $68.31 billion, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 14% to $4.58. Same-store sales climbed by 6.7% when adjusting for changes in gasoline prices and foreign currency. U.S. same-store sales increased by 6.4% (adjusted), while Canadian comparable-store sales jumped 7.6% (adjusted). Other international same-store sales climbed by 7.1% (adjusted).

Excluding gasoline and currency impacts, Costco’s average transaction rose 3.5% worldwide and 3.9% in the U.S., while traffic grew by 3.1% worldwide and 2.4% in the U.S. The company noted that it saw strong double-digit growth in both its pharmacy and food court businesses. It also continues to lean into its private label brand, Kirkland Signature, launching 30 new items in the quarter.

Membership-fee revenue climbed 13.6% year over year in the quarter to $1.36 billion. Paid memberships rose by 4.8% to 82.1 million paid households, while higher-cost executive memberships jumped by 9.5% to 40.4 million. The company also benefited from a membership fee increase from September 2024. Costco’s membership renewal rate was 92.1% in North America and 89.7% worldwide, similar to recent quarters.

The warehouse club opened three new locations in the quarter and expects to open 18 more this fiscal year for a total of 28 new net openings. It now has 924 warehouses around the globe. It plans to open 30 or more warehouse stores a year in the coming years.

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NASDAQ: COST

Costco Wholesale

Today’s Change

(-0.53%) $-5.30

Current Price

$992.06

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$443B

Day’s Range

$988.00 - $997.40

52wk Range

$844.06 - $1067.08

Volume

55K

Avg Vol

2.6M

Gross Margin

13.60%

Dividend Yield

0.52%

Is the stock a buy?

There is no denying that Costco has been one of the best retailers around, with its sales stronger than those of other big box competitors, including Walmart and** Target**. However, the stock is pricey, trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of nearly 49, and the company will no longer see a boost from its prior membership fee increase.

For my money, I would much prefer to own Amazon (AMZN 0.78%), which is trading at nearly half of Costco’s valuation while growing its retail business more quickly (10% in North America and 17% internationally) and seeing great operating leverage to boot. It’s just hard to see Costco having much more upside in the near to medium term from here.