COSTCOSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW— fair value (DCF model)
A deterministic two-stage discounted-cash-flow (DCF) estimate of this company's per-share fair value, and how far it sits above or below the current share price — with the full assumptions, a growth×discount sensitivity grid and the methodology. Every figure is engine-computed from SEC filings, delayed prices and the 10-year Treasury yield, with no LLM. This is a model estimate under disclosed assumptions, not a price target, forecast or investment advice.
The model estimates $532.68 per share — 47.4% below the current price of $1,012.52.
A deterministic model estimate under the disclosed assumptions (two-stage DCF over as-reported SEC figures; CAPM discount off the 10Y Treasury). NOT a price target, forecast, or investment advice — the sensitivity grid shows how the estimate moves as assumptions change.
Free-cash-flow DCF
The model estimates $532.68 per share — 47.4% below the current price of $1,012.52.
| Base fiscal year · base amount | FY2026 · $9.4B |
| History years | 10 |
| Historical CAGR (raw) | 9.3% |
| Growth start (year 1) | 9.3% |
| Terminal growth (Gordon) | 3.0% |
| Discount rate (CAPM) | 4.9% + β 0.68 × 5.0% = 8.3% |
| Projection years | 10 |
| Growth ↓ / Discount → | −1pp | −0.5pp | base | +0.5pp | +1pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| −5pp | $532.07 | $476.72 | $431.75 | $394.50 | $363.14 |
| −2.5pp | $592.70 | $530.42 | $479.84 | $437.95 | $402.69 |
| base | $659.43 | $589.48 | $532.68 | $485.66 | $446.10 |
| +2.5pp | $732.76 | $654.34 | $590.69 | $538.01 | $493.69 |
| +5pp | $813.27 | $725.51 | $654.30 | $595.37 | $545.81 |
Earnings (net-income) DCF
The model estimates $655.47 per share — 35.3% below the current price of $1,012.52.
| Base fiscal year · base amount | FY2026 · $9.2B |
| History years | 10 |
| Historical CAGR (raw) | 14.7% |
| Growth start (year 1) | 14.7% |
| Terminal growth (Gordon) | 3.0% |
| Discount rate (CAPM) | 4.9% + β 0.68 × 5.0% = 8.3% |
| Projection years | 10 |
| Growth ↓ / Discount → | −1pp | −0.5pp | base | +0.5pp | +1pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| −5pp | $661.14 | $590.89 | $533.86 | $486.64 | $446.91 |
| −2.5pp | $734.50 | $655.77 | $591.87 | $538.99 | $494.50 |
| base | $815.02 | $726.94 | $655.47 | $596.34 | $546.61 |
| +2.5pp | $903.28 | $804.92 | $725.12 | $659.10 | $603.60 |
| +5pp | $999.93 | $890.25 | $801.29 | $727.71 | $665.87 |
Model computed 2026-11-01 · Source: SEC XBRL filings + delayed price + 10Y Treasury yield · For reference only · Not investment advice
How the model works
- Two-stage DCF. Stage 1 projects ten explicit years of cash flow; stage 2 caps it with a Gordon terminal value. The model runs two variants — one over free cash flow, one over earnings (net income) — whenever each is computable.
- Dollar-level projection ÷ current shares. The company-level dollar series is projected and divided by the current share count once at the end. Dollar totals are split-immune, whereas a per-share history mixes pre/post-split bases.
- Linear growth decay. Stage-1 growth starts at the historical CAGR of the base series (clamped into 0%–20%; the raw CAGR is still disclosed) and decays linearly to the terminal rate.
- Gordon terminal growth = min(10-year Treasury yield, 3%). A company cannot outgrow the economy forever; the discount rate must clear the terminal rate by a minimum spread or the value is undefined.
- CAPM discount rate = 10-year Treasury + beta × equity-risk premium (5%). Beta is clamped into 0.6–2.0 (a degenerate regression beta destabilises the model); an unknown beta defaults to 1.0. Every clamp/default is disclosed.
- Honesty gates (absent, never fabricated): at least four annual points with positive first/last values to anchor a CAGR; banks, insurers and REITs are out of model scope (an FCF/earnings DCF structurally misfits their economics); and a result outside 1/8×–8× of the current price is withheld — the assumptions do not fit that business, so no number is shown.
- Sensitivity, not a single oracle number. A 5×5 grid over (growth-start offset × discount offset) shows how the estimate moves as the two key assumptions change — the honest presentation of model uncertainty.
This page is a deterministic model estimate under disclosed assumptions — not a price target, forecast or investment advice. Source: SEC XBRL filings, delayed prices and US Treasury yields; for reference only.