Costco Wholesale Corp. has been an excellent value play for investors over the course of the last 12 months, growing 19.43% year-to-date and showing strong financials as well as growing revenue. The retail giant pays out 0.31 per share and also maintains an EPS of over $4.54. Additionally, unlike its greatest competitor, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ( WMT ), Costco is not dealing with the issues of overextending its franchise too widely, which means its " Good-To-Great " style business model of slow but progressive growth, could steadily be taking effect. In addition, due to Costco's efficiency, the retail giant is often able to minimize its inventory by the end of each quarter, meaning that by the time Costco has to pay its suppliers, the majority of their significant inventory has by then been sold. By doing this, Costco retains a steady gross margin rate and healthy financials. Another factor to take note of are Costco's low operating expenses, which eclipse those of any other retail giant in the sector.