Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) price prediction
We do not issue point price predictions. Instead, our analysis anchors COST to a composite fair-value range of $385–$683 (midpoint $534, current price $1012) and a probability-weighted bull/base/bear distribution that resolves to a weighted price target of $522.79 and a weighted return of -48.3%.
Bull, base and bear price targets
Bull case (probability 20%): target $683.21, implied return -32.5%. Base case (probability 60%): target $533.50, implied return -47.3%. Bear case (probability 20%): target $385.07, implied return -61.9%.
These are not points-on-a-chart guesses. Each scenario is built from explicit revenue, margin, and capital-allocation assumptions, and discounted at 8.04%. Probability weights are calibrated to Costco Wholesale Corporation's mature compounder archetype — the bull tail is fatter for hyper-growth names, thinner for mature compounders, and inverted for cyclicals near peak.
Probability-weighted expected return
Folding bull/base/bear into a single weighted view, COST's probability-weighted price target is $522.79 and the weighted return is -48.3%. The asymmetry signal — the gap between weighted return and base-case return — is Probability-weighted scenario value points to unfavorable asymmetry versus the current price across the bear, base, and bull paths..
Asymmetry matters more than the headline return. A 10% expected return with a 30%-bear/15%-bull dispersion is a different bet than a 10% expected return with a 10%-bear/12%-bull dispersion. The full report walks through both for COST.
What our forecast deliberately does not do
We do not publish twelve monthly price targets across a calendar year, we do not back-test indicators on past prices, and we do not anchor any number to "analyst consensus" — the consensus is a useful sanity check, not a target. If our composite fair value differs from the analyst consensus by more than 30%, the full report runs a consensus-divergence diagnostic instead of silently revising toward the crowd.
What we do publish: the 5×5 Ke-versus-terminal-growth sensitivity matrix, five formal stress tests with quantified fair-value impact, an earnings decision tree if reporting is within 60 days, and explicit position-management checkpoints. Together those answer "what if my view is wrong?" — a more useful question for an investor than "what's the price next month?".
How to use this for COST
Anchor on the fair-value range ($385–$683), size against the bull/base/bear distribution, and define a kill-scenario list before entry. Our current rating for COST is Sell; rating-band changes are the trigger for re-sizing, not for trading the noise around them.
For the canonical version of this answer — including the sensitivity matrix, scorecard, and full assumption ledger — see the full report at /stocks/cost/analysis.
Frequently asked questions
What is the price prediction for COST?
We anchor COST to a fair-value range of $385–$683, with a midpoint of $534. The probability-weighted price target is $522.79 (weighted return -48.3%). We do not issue single-point price predictions.
What is the bull-case target for COST?
The bull case (probability 20%) targets $683.21, an implied return of -32.5%.
What is the bear-case target for COST?
The bear case (probability 20%) targets $385.07, an implied return of -61.9%.
Do you publish a 12-month COST price target?
No. We publish a fair-value range, a bull/base/bear distribution with explicit probabilities, and a probability-weighted expected return — not a single 12-month point.
Research for educational purposes. Not personalised investment advice. See the full COST report for the canonical evidence.