Jim Cramer said Costco Wholesale Corporation's stock is "acting poorly" ahead of the retailer's quarterly earnings report, warning that the company is having trouble getting younger shoppers to renew their memberships because they prefer shopping online. Costco reported August net sales of $23.7 billion, up 9.9% from $21.56 billion a year earlier, while preliminary net sales for the 16-week fourth quarter ended August 30, 2026 reached almost $94 billion, an 11.3% gain over last year. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, the company posted GAAP net sales of $69.15 billion and diluted earnings per share of $4.93, with worldwide paid memberships at 82.9 million and a 92.2% renewal rate across the United States and Canada. Despite that momentum, Costco missed consensus EPS by a single cent in the May quarter, $4.93 versus $4.94 expected, a warning sign for a stock trading at a trailing P/E ratio above 45x. According to Insider Monkey, 104 hedge funds held positions in Costco at the close of the second quarter, down slightly from 107 in the prior quarter, while short interest stands at 1.71% of the public float.
Costco Wholesale CorpCramer warns Costco is struggling to get younger shoppers to renew memberships as they prefer shopping online, a membership-demand concern ahead of earnings
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