Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) shares were down in early trading on Friday, even after the company reported upbeat results for its fiscal fourth quarter.

The company reported its results amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways.

Truist Securities On Costco Wholesale

Analyst Scot Ciccarelli reiterated a Hold rating while raising the price target from $873 to $909.

Costco Wholesale delivered strong results for the fourth quarter, backed by robust sales growth, “with total core (ex-fuel/FX) comps of 6.9% and US core comps of 6.3%,” Ciccarelli said in a note. “Costco’s stacked growth continues to be the strongest/most consistent in our coverage,” he added.

With gross margin expansion of 37 basis points (bps) to 12.68%, the company delivered adjusted earnings growth of around 13%, the analyst stated.

He raised the earnings estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 from $17.20 per share to $17.60 per share and from $18.50 per share to $19.25 per share, respectively.

BMO Capital Markets On Costco Wholesale

Analyst Kelly Bania maintained an Outperform rating while lifting the price target from $950 to $980.

Costco reported earnings of $5.29 per share for the fourth quarter, beating consensus of $5.08 per share, Bania said. Although the underlying earnings was $5.15 per share, this represents 12.7% growth, which brings the fiscal 2024 growth higher than the average of the past 10 years, he added.

The company achieved strong EBIT margin expansion in the year, of 30bps, the analyst stated. “We conservatively model 8%-9% EPS growth over the next five years, assuming COST reinvests the recent MFI (membership fee income) …

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