Costco WholesaleCOST +0.34%97 Piotroski F-Score is 8 as of Jun. 24, 2026, which is 14% above its 10-year median of 7.00. GuruFocus rates COST with a GF Score™ of 97/100 and a GF Value™ of $1,014.93 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 1 warning sign investors should review. Among 298 Retail - Defensive companies, Costco Wholesale ranks better than 98.32% on this metric.
Good Sign:
Piotroski F-Score is 8, indicates a very healthy situation.
The zones of discrimination were as such:
Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3
Costco Wholesale has an F-score of 8. It is a good or high score, which usually indicates a very healthy situation.
The historical rank and industry rank for Costco Wholesale's Piotroski F-Score or its related term are showing as below:
COST'
s Piotroski F-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 4 Med: 7 Max: 9
Current: 8
During the past 13 years, the highest Piotroski F-Score of Costco Wholesale was 9. The lowest was 4. And the median was 7.
The developer of the system is Joseph D. Piotroski is relatively unknown accounting professor who shuns publicity and rarely gives interviews.
He graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in accounting in 1989, received an M.B.A. from Indiana University in 1994. Five years later, in 1999, after earning a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Michigan, he became an associate professor of accounting at the University of Chicago.
He wanted to see if he can develop a system (using a simple nine-point scoring system) that can increase the returns of a strategy of investing in low price to book (referred to in the paper as high book to market) value companies.
What he found was something that exceeded his most optimistic expectations.
Buying only those companies that scored highest (8 or 9) on his nine-point scale, or F-Score as he called it, over the 20 year period from 1976 to 1996 led to an average out-performance over the market of 13.4%.
Even more impressive were the results of a strategy of investing in the highest F-Score companies (8 or 9) and shorting companies with the lowest F-Score (0 or 1).
Over the same period from 1976 to 1996 (20 years) this strategy led to an average yearly return of 23%, substantially outperforming the average S&P 500 index return of 15.83% over the same period.
Costco Wholesale Piotroski F-Score Related Terms
Costco Wholesale Piotroski F-Score Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Costco Wholesale's Piotroski F-Score can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
COST vs TGT, DG, DLTR: Piotroski F-Score Comparison
For the Discount Stores subindustry, Costco Wholesale's Piotroski F-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Piotroski F-Score data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Costco Wholesale Piotroski F-Score vs Retail - Defensive Industry
For the Retail - Defensive industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Costco Wholesale's Piotroski F-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Costco Wholesale's Piotroski F-Score falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
*Note: If the latest quarterly/semi-annual/annual total assets data is 0, then we will use previous quarterly/semi-annual/annual data for all the items in the balance sheet.
Profitability
Question 1. Return on Assets (ROA)
Net income before extraordinary items for the year divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.
Score 1 if positive, 0 if negative.
Costco Wholesale's current Net Income (TTM) was 8,838.
==> Positive ==> Score 1.
Question 2. Cash Flow Return on Assets (CFROA)
Net cash flow from operating activities (operating cash flow) divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.
Costco Wholesale's return on assets of this year was 0.11708752. Costco Wholesale's return on assets of last year was 0.11548939.
==> This year is higher. ==> Score 1.
Question 4. Quality of Earnings (Accrual)
Compare Cash flow return on assets (2) to return on assets (1)
Costco Wholesale's gearing of this year was 0.10033544. Costco Wholesale's gearing of last year was 0.11366352.
==> This year is lower or equal to last year. ==> Score 1.
Question 6. Change in Working Capital (Liquidity)
Compare this year's current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) to last year's current ratio.
Score 1 if this year's current ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower
Costco Wholesale's current ratio of this year was 1.07245104. Costco Wholesale's current ratio of last year was 1.01522127.
==> This year's current ratio is higher. ==> Score 1.
Question 7. Change in Shares in Issue
Compare the number of shares in issue this year, to the number in issue last year.
Score 0 if there is larger number of shares in issue this year, 1 otherwise.
Costco Wholesale's number of shares in issue this year was 444.43. Costco Wholesale's number of shares in issue last year was 444.762.
==> There is smaller number of shares in issue this year, or the same. ==> Score 1.
Efficiency
Question 8. Change in Gross Margin
Compare this year's gross margin (Gross Profit divided by sales) to last year's.
Score 1 if this year's gross margin is higher, 0 if it's lower.
Costco Wholesale's gross margin of this year was 0.12875911. Costco Wholesale's gross margin of last year was 0.12776066.
==> This year's gross margin is higher. ==> Score 1.
Question 9. Change in asset turnover
Compare this year's asset turnover (total sales for the year divided by total assets at the beginning of the year) to last year's asset turnover ratio.
Score 1 if this year's asset turnover ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower
Costco Wholesale's asset turnover of this year was 3.88949683. Costco Wholesale's asset turnover of last year was 3.95776826.
==> Last year's asset turnover is higher ==> Score 0.
Evaluation
Piotroski F-Score
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Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3
Costco Wholesale has an F-score of 8. It is a good or high score, which usually indicates a very healthy situation.
Costco Wholesale (COST) has a Piotroski F-Score of 8 as of Jun. 24, 2026. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on Costco Wholesale and its competitors. This is 14% above median its historical median of 7.00. Over the past decade, Costco Wholesale's Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 4.00 to 9.00. According to the industry distribution chart, Costco Wholesale ranks #5 out of 298 companies in the Retail - Defensive industry, placing it in the top 1.7%.
Is Costco Wholesale's Piotroski F-Score too high?
Costco Wholesale's current Piotroski F-Score of 8 is 14% above median its 10-year median of 7.00. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 4.00 to a high of 9.00. The Retail - Defensive industry median Piotroski F-Score is 6.00. Costco Wholesale's value of 8 is 33.3% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Costco Wholesale ranks #5 out of 298 companies in the Retail - Defensive industry, which is in the top quartile — a strong position relative to peers. Overall, Costco Wholesale has a GF Score™ of 97/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Costco Wholesale's Piotroski F-Score compare to TGT and DG?
According to the Retail - Defensive industry distribution chart, Costco Wholesale ranks #5 out of 298 companies for Piotroski F-Score. This places Costco Wholesale in the top 2% of its industry — outperforming the majority of peers. The industry median Piotroski F-Score is 6.00. Costco Wholesale's value of 8 is 33.3% above this benchmark. Historically, Costco Wholesale's own Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 4.00 to 9.00 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 7.00 vs. the industry median of 6.00, Costco Wholesale has consistently been above the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Piotroski F-Score for a Retail - Defensive company?
The median Piotroski F-Score among Retail - Defensive companies is 6.00, based on 298 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Piotroski F-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Piotroski F-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Costco Wholesale's current Piotroski F-Score of 8 is 33.3% above the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Piotroski F-Score mean?
A high Piotroski F-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on Costco Wholesale and its competitors. For the Retail - Defensive industry, the median Piotroski F-Score is 6.00 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Costco Wholesale's current Piotroski F-Score is 8, which is 14% above median its own 10-year median of 7.00. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Costco Wholesale stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Costco Wholesale (COST) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is $1,014.93, compared to a current price of $960.97 — trading 5.3% below its estimated fair value. The current Piotroski F-Score is 8, which is 14% above median its 10-year median of 7.00 and 33.3% above the Retail - Defensive industry median of 6.00. Costco Wholesale's overall GF Score™ is 97/100 with 1 warning sign to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Piotroski F-Score calculated?
Piotroski F-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Costco Wholesale (COST), the current Piotroski F-Score is 8 as of Jun. 24, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Costco Wholesale (COST) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Costco Wholesale stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of $960.97 is trading 5.3% below its estimated GF Value™ of $1,014.93.
GuruFocus considers Costco Wholesale to be Fairly Valued.
Key valuation signals for COST:
Piotroski F-Score: 8 (14% above median its 10-year median of 7.00)
GF Value™: $1,014.93 vs. price of $960.97 (5.3% below fair value)
Industry Position: 33.3% above the Retail - Defensive median (#5 of 298)
No single metric tells the full story. See the COST stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Founded in 1983, Costco Wholesale now operates a global chain of membership-based warehouse clubs, delivering high-quality goods and services at consistently low prices. As of its most recent fiscal year, Costco operated approximately 910 warehouses, serving more than 80 million members across its three geographic segments: Costco US (approximately 73% of total revenue), Costco Canada (13%), and Costco International (14%).Costco's core value proposition—quality products at unbeatable prices—has yielded consistently strong member renewal rates (93% in the US and Canada and nearly 90% internationally). About 55% of Costco's fiscal 2025 revenue came from its grocery offerings, and another 25% from general merchandise.
97GF Score
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