If You'd Invested $100 in Costco 10 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

Source The Motley Fool

Key Points

  • Costco's share performance comes up significantly ahead of the S&P 500, thanks to strong fundamentals.

  • Since the valuation is steep, investors aren't advised to buy the stock right now.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Costco Wholesale ›

In addition to Walmart and Amazon, Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) is one of the leading businesses in the retail sector. It has a global presence with over 900 warehouses in total. And the company has been a great portfolio addition for shareholders.

If you bought $100 worth of this retail stock 10 years ago, how much would you have today?

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Costco Wholesale sign on side of building.

Image source: Getty Images.

In the past 10 years, Costco has produced a total return of 682% (as of Jan. 27). This means that a $100 starting investment would be worth $782 today. This is a wonderful gain that is much better than what the S&P 500 index would have returned.

It shouldn't be surprising that Costco's investment gains have been driven by strong fundamental performance. The company has far more warehouses today than it did a decade ago, which has resulted in increasing merchandise sales and a much bigger membership base of loyal customers. Consequently, Costco is registering much higher net income these days.

But investors shouldn't rush to buy the stock just yet. Costco is an expensive investment opportunity today, with shares trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 52. The best move is to wait for a sizable pullback before even thinking about adding Costco to your portfolio.

Should you buy stock in Costco Wholesale right now?

Before you buy stock in Costco Wholesale, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Costco Wholesale wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $450,256!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,171,666!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of January 31, 2026.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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