Costco Finds Its 2026 Spark On Upbeat Holiday Sales Data — And Wall Street Is Warming Back Up
December sales rose 8.5%, lifting COST to its best session since April and a one-month stock high.
- Costco reported that sales in December were $29.6 billion, up 8.5%, and net sales for the first 18 weeks of its fiscal 2026 were $101.83 billion.
- Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman said that online continues to benefit from expanding the assortment, same-day delivery, effective marketing, and faster fulfillment.
- According to Adobe Analytics data, consumers spent $257.8 billion online from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, up 6.8% year-over-year.
Retailers have had a volatile year on multiple fronts, from ballooning costs driven by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on global trading partners to a pullback in consumer spending following price hikes across the sector.
Costco Wholesale, in particular, has faced an uphill battle, grappling with tariffs, cuts to SNAP benefits (formerly known as “food stamps”), and a legal dispute with the Trump administration over duties imposed last year.
Despite those headwinds, COST’s stock entered 2026 with renewed momentum, hitting a one-month high of $915.31 after jumping 3.7% on Thursday, its best session since April of last year. The move followed Costco’s sales update released after markets closed on Wednesday.
Costco reported December sales of $29.6 billion, up 8.5% for the five weeks ended Jan. 4, driven by a strong holiday season. The membership-only retailer also said net sales for the first 18 weeks of fiscal 2026 reached $101.83 billion, an 8.3% increase from a year earlier.
Wall Street’s View On COST
Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman said traffic increased 2.7% in December as consumers continue to seek value and turn to Costco for its bundled, cheaper products. The average ticket increased 4.2%, helped by strength across the store and modest inflation, driven by tariffs, the analyst added.
Feldman added that online sales continue to benefit from a broader assortment, same-day delivery, effective marketing, and faster fulfillment. He added that Costco continues to execute well in this uncertain operating environment and expects the company to remain a profitable share gainer, with its solid sales and high membership renewal rates.
Earlier this week, Mizuho upgraded Costco to ‘outperform’ from ‘neutral’ with a price target of $1,000, up from $950, according to TheFly. The brokerage added the stock to its “Top Picks” list and noted that even though shares have corrected 20% on concerns that both the company’s membership and comparable sales growth are slowing, it believes that Costco’s trade-up activity is accelerating, with first-quarter premium members adding two to three times that of total membership.
Holiday Season
According to Adobe Analytics, consumers spent a record $257.8 billion online between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, up 6.8% year over year. During the period, 25 separate days saw online spending top $4 billion.
The holiday season was powered by a strong Cyber Week, which generated $44.2 billion in online sales, up 7.7% from last year. Adobe said aggressive discounting helped keep online consumer demand resilient.
Adobe also noted a sharp rise in traffic from generative AI tools, which jumped 693.4% year over year, highlighting the growing role of the red-hot tech in online shopping behavior.
How Are Stocktwits Users Reacting?
Retail sentiment on Costco improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ a day ago, with message volumes at ‘high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.
Shares of Costco have lost 1% of their value in the last 12 months.
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