COSTCostco
Is it safe?
Strong, no red flags: a safe balance sheet, clean books, and quality strong.
Financially healthy, low distress risk Altman Z-score, a bankruptcy-risk model from five balance-sheet ratios.
Reported earnings show no manipulation flags Beneish M-score, a forensic model that detects earnings-manipulation patterns (receivables outrunning sales, margins slipping, accrual-heavy profit).
High fundamental quality Piotroski F-score, nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year financial health across profitability, balance sheet and efficiency. 7 to 9 is strong, 0 to 3 weak.
Insiders were net sellers (-$2.7M, 90 days to Oct 8, 2026), selling is often routine.
Net cash and profitable. A rule of thumb on leverage, not a credit rating.
Relatively steady, low volatility. Worst drawdown -31% · now 14% below its 52-week high.
Unless marked, from SEC EDGAR, as of Aug 30, 2026.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. Altman sits structurally low for utilities and pipelines; Beneish runs high for fast growers, since sales growth alone lifts it; banks and REITs are excluded.
Can COST take a bad year?
Costco holds $14.3B more cash than debt, so a bad year is a question about profits, not about lenders.
Net cash
- Net debt / EBITDA
- net cash
Net debt / EBITDA · no net borrowings to measure against earnings
- Altman Z-score
- 9.08
Altman Z-score · safe zone, above 3
- Interest cover
- 77.1×
Interest cover · operating profit covers the interest bill several times over
Details›
- Total debtQ3 2026
- $5.67B
- Cash and short-term investments
- $20.0B
- Net cash
- $14.3B
- EBITDA, trailing twelve months
- $12.8B
- Operating profit, trailing twelve months
- $10.4B
- Debt / equity
- 0.17×
- Total debt / EBITDA
- 0.44×
- Annualised volatilitytwo years of daily moves
- 21%
- Worst drawdown on file
- −31%
- Below its 52-week high
- 14%
Balance sheet from SEC filings; drawdown and volatility from end-of-day closes; Altman Z from the filed statements.
Consumer Defensive
Ranks #50 of 131 by RyuScore