Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, discount-warehouse giant Costco Wholesale
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Costco's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Costco facts
| Headquarters (Founded) | Issaquah, Wash. (1976) |
| Market Cap | $33.2 billion |
| Industry | Hypermarkets and supercenters |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $84.86 billion |
| Management | Co-Founder/CEO James Sinegal President/COO Craig Jelinek |
| Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) | 12.3% |
| Cash / Debt | $6.2 billion / $2.2 billion |
| Dividend Yield | 1.3% |
| Competitors |
BJ's Wholesale Target Wal-Mart |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 96.5% of the 4,171 members who have rated Costco believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include TMFBiggles and thebrokengroup.
Earlier this week, TMFBiggles touched on a few of Costco's positives:
International expansions are doing great. Business model is clear and well-loved by people from the top of the ladder to the bottom. Everywhere they open they are packed.
Over the next five years, in fact, Costco is expected to grow its bottom line at a solid rate of 13% annually. That's faster than rivals like BJ's (11%), Target (11%), and Wal-Mart (10%).
CAPS member thebrokengroup elaborates on the Costco bull case:
What can I say! Every time I step foot in this store it's jammed packed with people. The selection of products is always great, and there is always something new and cool to buy. There is an endless stream of new products at great prices. It's the busiest retail store out there bar none! Solid stock with a solid model that is tough to beat.
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