Costco Stock Trades at Over 50 Times Earnings for Only the 2nd Time in Its History. What Happened Last Time Could Signal What to Expect This Time.

In investing lingo, one would say this business trades at 10 times its earnings or at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 10. Buying shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) at a lower P/E ratio is not possible right now. As of this writing, Costco stock trades at 55 times its earnings, which is just the second time in its history that its P/E ratio has gone over 50.