New York, Feb 16, 2026, 17:49 ET — Market closed
- Costco shares ended Friday higher, extending a three-session rise.
- U.S. markets are closed Monday for Presidents Day; trading resumes Tuesday.
- Focus turns to Fed minutes this week and Costco’s March 5 earnings and February sales release.
Costco Wholesale (COST.O) shares last closed up 1.96% at $1,018.48 on Friday and will not trade on Monday as U.S. markets shut for Presidents Day. The move extended a three-session rise and left the stock about 5.5% below its 52-week high. (MarketWatch)
With no tape to watch on Monday, investors have been forced to lean on the headlines. “Very excited about what we have coming in the app,” CEO Ron Vachris said, as Costco moves custom cake and deli-tray orders onto its app and website. (FOX 13 Tampa Bay)
The next hard catalyst for the Costco stock price comes on March 5, when the retailer is scheduled to post fiscal second-quarter earnings alongside February sales. (Costco Investor Relations)
In its latest sales update, Costco said January net sales rose 9.3% to $21.33 billion for the four weeks ended Feb. 1. Comparable sales — sales at stores open at least a year — rose 7.1% companywide, while digitally-enabled comparable sales, which include online orders, jumped 34.4%. Costco said the later timing of Lunar New Year weighed on international results in January. (Costco Investor Relations)
Macro remains the bigger lever for many high-priced consumer names. U.S. January inflation, measured by the consumer price index, rose 2.4% year-on-year, a shade below economists’ 2.5% forecast, and Treasury yields — the interest rates on U.S. government bonds — fell. Tim Holland, chief investment officer at Orion, called it “a bit of good news” going into the holiday weekend. (Reuters)
Lower yields can lift richly valued stocks by reducing the discount investors apply to future earnings. Costco often trades at a premium to many big retailers, which can make it swing with rates even when company news is thin.
Wednesday brings the minutes from the Fed’s January policy meeting, a detailed record investors use to gauge how close policymakers are to rate cuts. The same day also features U.S. industrial production and the leading economic index. (Scotiabank)
Retail traders also have a read-through event on Thursday, when Walmart is set to report quarterly results. Walmart’s tone on pricing and demand can spill across the sector, including Costco and Target. (Walmart News & Leadership)
Costco’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.30 a share in January, payable Feb. 13 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 30. (GlobeNewswire)
But the stock still carries high expectations. Any hint that comparable-sales growth is fading, or that costs are rising faster than prices, could jar the shares when the company reports.
With Monday’s holiday out of the way, investors will be watching Tuesday’s reopening, the Fed minutes on Feb. 18 and Walmart on Feb. 19. For Costco, the focus narrows quickly to March 5.
