Federal Reserve Keeps Rates Steady; Costco (COST) Stock Resilient

The Federal Reserve unanimously decided to keep the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%. Despite expectations for a rate hike in 2026, Costco Wholesale (COST) demonstrated resilience, with same-store sales (SSS) growth of 14.4% in fiscal 2022 and 3% in fiscal 2023. Recently, Costco reported a 12.5% SSS gain for the four-week period ending May 31, even excluding gas price changes and foreign exchange impacts. This sustained performance highlights the company's strong position amidst economic uncertainty, making it attractive to some investors despite shares being 13% off their peak.