Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) is one of the world's most successful retailers today. The king of warehouse retailing has defied the odds in many respects. It delivers sales growth in nearly every economic environment and internationally, and it has successfully adapted to local cultures in markets where many Americentric retail models have failed.

So successful is its business model that investors have come to expect robust earnings reports from Costco, which has probably helped lead to a consistently high P/E ratio. The question for investors is whether the retail stock can still justify its expense.

Costco shares currently trade for around 35 times earnings. This may seem expensive, given that Target, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree trade at lower P/E ratios. Only Amazon and Sam's Club parent Walmart are more expensive, though Walmart has historically sold at a lower multiple than Costco.

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Source Fool.com