One-glance verdict
Overvalued
$113.30 our estimate vs market $191.95
Wall Street consensus: $153.33 (35.3% higher than our fair-value estimate)
69% above our estimate, beyond the bull case
Fundamentals snapshot
PriceSmart, Inc.
PSMT · NMS · Consumer Defensive · Discount Stores
Current price
$191.95
52-week range
$101.30 - $199.84
Market cap
$5.93B
Balance sheet
Healthy
20.50x Strong cushion
Net debt $9.15M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
1 Risk
3 rewards · 1 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 4.9% last year.
- Reward Returns 12.4% on equity, ahead of 16% of its peers.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 9/10 years.
- Risk Stock trades 84.0% above its 5-year average P/E.
What this company does
PriceSmart, Inc.
PriceSmart runs membership-based warehouse stores, similar to a Costco, but located mostly in Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. The company makes money by charging customers an annual fee to shop there and by selling a wide variety of items in bulk, including groceries, electronics, and its own private-label products. PriceSmart's success is therefore closely linked to the economic health of these regions and its ability to sign up more paying members.
How the company got here
PriceSmart was started in 1994 by Sol and Robert Price, the same father-son duo who pioneered the warehouse club idea with Price Club, which later merged with Costco. After the merger, they took the international rights to operate warehouse clubs and focused on markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company went public (first sold shares of stock to the public) in 1997 and has grown steadily by opening new stores in new countries over time. This careful expansion has turned it into a major retailer in the regions it serves.
What it actually does
PriceSmart runs membership-only warehouse clubs, similar to Costco or Sam's Club, but primarily in Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. Shoppers pay an annual fee to get access to a wide variety of items, from groceries and electronics to clothing and home goods, often sold in bulk at low prices. The company focuses on selling a limited selection of high-volume products to keep costs down and pass the savings to its members. In some locations, they also offer services like optical centers, pharmacies, and food courts.
Warehouse Club Operations
This is the company's main and essentially only business. The primary way PriceSmart earns money is through net merchandise sales (the total sales of goods minus returns, allowances, and discounts), which make up the vast majority of its revenue. A smaller, but very important, slice of income comes from the annual membership fees that customers pay to shop at the clubs. These fees are crucial because they are very profitable and provide a steady stream of cash for the company. The business serves both individual families and small business owners who buy products for their own use or for resale.
What management is betting on now
The company is focused on expanding its physical footprint by opening new warehouse clubs and distribution centers in its existing markets and exploring new ones like Chile. They are also heavily investing in technology to grow their online sales through their website and app, offering services like curbside pickup and delivery. Another key strategy is growing their own private label brand, Member's Selection, which allows them to offer quality products at a better value and increase their margins (the difference between the cost of a product and its selling price). Finally, PriceSmart is adding more wellness services like pharmacies and optical centers to attract and retain members.
How the company got here
PriceSmart was started in 1994 by Sol and Robert Price, the same father-son team who created the original Price Club, which later merged with Costco. After the merger, they used their rights to operate warehouse clubs internationally to focus on markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company began publicly trading its stock in 1997 and has grown by methodically opening new clubs over the years. This steady expansion has established PriceSmart as the largest operator of membership warehouse clubs in Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia.
What it actually does
PriceSmart operates U.S.-style membership-only warehouse clubs where individuals and businesses pay an annual fee to shop. In these clubs, members can buy a wide range of products, including groceries, electronics, appliances, and clothing, often in large quantities at lower prices. The company keeps prices low by selling a limited assortment of high-demand items, which makes their operations more efficient. In addition to merchandise, many clubs also offer services like optical centers, pharmacies, and food courts to provide more value to their members.
Warehouse Club Operations
This is the company's single, primary business. PriceSmart makes most of its money from merchandise sales, which is the revenue (the total money earned) from all the products it sells. A smaller but highly profitable portion of its income comes from the annual membership fees customers pay, which contributes significantly to the company's operating income (a measure of profitability). The company sells a mix of well-known national brands and its own private label brand called Member's Selection. This single business serves both individual households and small businesses across Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia.
What management is betting on now
The company's main focus is on continued growth by opening new clubs in its current markets and expanding into new countries like Chile. They are also investing heavily in technology to improve the online shopping experience, aiming to increase sales through their website and mobile app. Another key part of their strategy is expanding their private label brand, Member's Selection, which helps improve profit margins (the portion of sales revenue that's left after costs are paid) and offers members better value. Finally, PriceSmart is adding more wellness services like pharmacies and audiology centers to attract and keep members.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$-308.00K
FY2024 Q4
$14.86M
FY2025 Q1
$10.35M
FY2025 Q2
$53.22M
FY2025 Q3
$14.00M
FY2025 Q4
$25.60M
FY2026 Q1
$32.63M
FY2026 Q2
$12.31M
Revenue
$1.50B
Net income
$49.09M
Diluted EPS
1.62
Operating cash flow
$62.04M
Free cash flow
$12.31M
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Sources
Revenue
$1.38B
Net income
$40.17M
Diluted EPS
1.29
Operating cash flow
$71.25M
Free cash flow
$32.63M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.33B
Net income
$31.54M
Diluted EPS
1.02
Operating cash flow
$82.15M
Free cash flow
$25.60M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.32B
Net income
$35.16M
Diluted EPS
1.14
Operating cash flow
$52.77M
Free cash flow
$14.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.36B
Net income
$43.76M
Diluted EPS
1.45
Operating cash flow
$87.86M
Free cash flow
$53.22M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.26B
Net income
$37.43M
Diluted EPS
1.21
Operating cash flow
$38.53M
Free cash flow
$10.35M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.23B
Net income
$29.07M
Diluted EPS
0.94
Operating cash flow
$41.84M
Free cash flow
$14.86M
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Sources
Revenue
$1.23B
Net income
$32.49M
Diluted EPS
1.08
Operating cash flow
$38.09M
Free cash flow
$-308.00K
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $113.30 vs current price $191.95
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $153.33 (35.3% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $113.30 a share — about 41.0% below today's price of $191.95, so the stock currently looks expensive (overvalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Healthy
Net debt $9.1M. Interest coverage 20.5x.
Net debt
$9.15M
Interest coverage
20.50x
PriceSmart, Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 20.5 times over. which is stronger than every peer shown here and 1 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Healthy
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
PSMT
BASELINE
PriceSmart, Inc.
Total debt $315.11M Interest coverage 20.50x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $2.86B Interest coverage 20.40x -1% vs PSMT Has roughly the same debt cushion as PSMT.
Total debt $710.30M Interest coverage 17.25x -16% vs PSMT Carries about 1.2x less debt cushion than PSMT.
Total debt $830.17M Interest coverage -0.45x -100% vs PSMT This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with PSMT.
Total debt $15.80B Interest coverage 9.56x -53% vs PSMT Carries about 2.1x less debt cushion than PSMT.
Total debt $7.59B Interest coverage 19.33x -6% vs PSMT Has roughly the same debt cushion as PSMT.
What you should know
The case for and against PSMT
3 Rewards
1 Risk
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 4.9% last year.
-
Returns 12.4% on equity, ahead of 16% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 9/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 84.0% above its 5-year average P/E.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
38.31x
Forward P/E
27.23x
P/B
4.34x
P/S
1.07x
EV/EBITDA
16.76x
PEG ratio
1.83x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
17.6%
Operating margin
5.1%
Net margin
2.8%
ROE
12.4%
ROA
7.0%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.24x
Current ratio
1.29x
Quick ratio
0.46x
Total debt
$315.11M
Total cash
$305.96M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$5.53B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
9.8%
EPS TTM
5.01
EPS 5Y CAGR
12.6%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$268.21M
Free CF TTM
$103.17M
FCF margin
1.9%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
0.7%
Payout ratio
26.2%
Last ex-div date
2026-08-17