It’s One More Reason to Own the Stock.

Mainly, though, Costco investors come for the steady gains. The stock has returned 35% over the past three years, 29% over the past five years, 22% over the past 10 years, and 17% over the past 15 years. Those returns have meaningfully surpassed the S&P 500 over all those periods.

The biggest complaint about the stock is that it’s too expensive. On April 11, the stock was trading at 42 times 2023 earnings estimates, noted Barron’s Andrew Bary, making it the most expensive retailer not named Amazon.com (AMZN). Bary, however, argues that it deserves that valuation. Membership is growing, it controls shoplifting better than its peers, and Costco continues to offer low prices to investors at a time when inflation is raising the cost of everything.

The Trader column recommended the stock on April 1, citing its ability to manage increasing wages

Wages Are Rising. These Companies Can Handle It.

Rising wages are good for American workers, but they’re not so good for U.S. corporations. Corporate margins are already feeling the pressure.

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 but also the fact that it looked set to hit another all-time high. And that it did.

The next real catalyst for the stock–one way or another–might come when the company reports earnings on May 27.

Enjoy the dividend until then.

Write to Ben Levisohn  at ben.levisohn@barrons.com