Costco(US:COST) Goldman Sachs·2025-06-07 04:30Investment Rating - The report assigns a "Buy" rating to Costco Wholesale (COST) with a 12-month price target of $1,133, indicating an upside potential of 7.3% from the current price of $1,055.59 [9][10]. Core Insights - Costco's May same-store sales (SSS) growth was +6.0%, slightly below the consensus estimate of +6.2% and down from +6.7% in April. U.S. comparable sales (ex-gas) were +5.5%, also below the consensus of +6.4% and down from +7.1% in April. The company noted a negative impact from cannibalization of approximately 70 basis points in May [1]. - Worldwide traffic growth decelerated to +3.4% in May, compared to +4.2% in April. U.S. traffic growth also slowed to +2.8% from +5.0% in April, while global ticket sales (ex-gas/FX) increased by an estimated +2.6% [2]. Sales Performance - The report highlights that the Fresh category saw high-single-digit growth, driven by strong performance in meat and bakery. Food & Sundries grew mid-single-digit to high-single-digit, while non-foods increased mid-single-digit. The ancillary business, however, decreased low-single-digit to mid-single-digit [8]. Financial Metrics - The report provides financial forecasts for Costco, projecting revenues of $254.45 billion for the current year, increasing to $310.24 billion by 2027. EBITDA is expected to grow from $11.52 billion to $15.45 billion over the same period. The earnings per share (EPS) is forecasted to rise from $16.56 to $21.51 [10].