If You'd Invested $10,000 in Costco 10 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

A $10,000 investment in Costco a decade ago would have grown to approximately $72,000 today, representing a 22% average annual return. However, the article cautions that this exceptional performance was partly driven by valuation expansion (P/E ratio rising from high 20s to 48x), which cannot be sustained indefinitely. While Costco remains a high-quality business with strong fundamentals and recurring membership revenue, the author suggests current valuations offer limited margin of safety and recommends waiting for a meaningful pullback before buying.