Costco (NASDAQ: COST) investors aren't used to being disappointed. The warehouse retailer's stock has trounced the S 500 over the last five years even while the company sent billions to its shareholders through special dividend payouts. Factoring in those payments places Costco's returns at over 230% -- more than double the market's 100% rally since March 2021.

Those are some head-turning gains for a retailing stock that's one of the least profitable in its peer group. We're not talking about a fast-growing tech giant with double-digit operating profit margins, after all. Costco earns less than for every dollar of revenue it books. You can find much faster sales growth both inside and outside of its consumer staples industry niche as well. Its current stock price valuation is near a record, meanwhile, and so investors are facing elevated risk around the company disappointing Wall Street.

Let's look at the biggest ways Costco might come up short this year to deliver subpar returns in 2024.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com