If You'd Invested $1,000 in Costco Stock 5 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

Core Insights - Costco stock has delivered an impressive annualized return of 28% over the past five years, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 index [1] - Approximately half of the stock's price increase is attributed to an expansion in the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, rather than growth in the underlying business [2] - The stock is currently trading at a historically high P/E of 52, suggesting that future stock price increases may align more closely with earnings growth, projected at an annualized rate of 9% [3] Group 1 - Costco's stock performance has resulted in a $3,467 value from an initial $1,000 investment over five years, including dividends [1] - The trailing-12-month earnings of Costco nearly doubled in the last five years, while the P/E ratio increased by 87% [2] - Net sales for Costco increased by 7% in the last fiscal year, with net income rising by 8% [3] Group 2 - Analysts project Costco's earnings per share to grow at an annualized rate of 9% in the coming years [3] - Investors should not expect the stock to continue its rapid ascent of 200% in value every five years [3]