Will Costco and Netflix Follow the Recent Stock Splits Trend in 2025?

The Stock-Split Craze Pushing Markets Higher

Stock splits have become Wall Street’s darling this year, running a close second to the AI boom in driving major indexes to record levels. Here’s the thing: while a stock split doesn’t change a company’s actual market value or operating performance, investors absolutely love them. That’s because recent stock splits create a psychological win—they make expensive shares feel more accessible.

The data backs this enthusiasm up hard. According to Bank of America Global Research, companies that announced forward splits since 1980 delivered an average 25.4% return over the following 12 months. Compare that to the S&P 500’s modest 11.9% average annual return, and you can see why retail investors are hunting for the next big split announcement.

The High-Price Candidates: Costco and Netflix

With three companies already pulling the trigger on stock splits in 2025, speculation is swirling around two heavyweight contenders: Costco Wholesale and Netflix.

On paper, both look like obvious candidates. Costco is creeping toward the $1,000 share price mark and hasn’t executed a forward split since 2000—a 25-year drought. Netflix is trading around $1,300 per share, having last split back in July 2015 when shares were hovering near $700. For investors without access to fractional share purchases, these price points create a real barrier to entry.

But here’s where the story gets interesting: the surface-level case doesn’t tell the whole picture.

Why Costco Isn’t Rushing to Split

During Costco’s recent earnings call, management was explicitly asked about split plans. The CFO’s response was telling: “There isn’t a plan at this time for a stock split.” The reasoning? Costco’s leadership believes the original economic arguments for stock splits have lost their punch. Retail investors and employees can now buy fractional shares through most brokers, eliminating the affordability barrier that used to make splits so critical.

Management indicated they’d continue evaluating the situation, but the urgency simply isn’t there anymore. When your broker lets someone purchase 0.1 shares instead of forcing them to wait, a stock split becomes less of a necessity.

Netflix’s Institutional Problem

Netflix presents a different challenge. While fractional shares aren’t the issue here, investor composition is. The streaming giant’s shareholder base is overwhelmingly institutional—hedge funds, custodial banks, and passive funds control roughly 80% of outstanding shares. Retail investors hold just under 20%.

The problem: institutional money managers handling millions or billions in assets don’t care about nominal share price. They’ll buy Netflix at any price. Without meaningful retail investor ownership driving demand for lower-priced shares, the board has little incentive to split.

For context, companies like AutoZone and FICO have even lower retail ownership percentages (around 10-11%), and their boards show no urgency for splits despite share prices far exceeding Netflix’s level.

The Bottom Line on Recent Stock Splits

The stock-split excitement gripping markets is real, and recent stock splits have genuinely rewarded investors. However, not every expensive stock is a split candidate. Costco’s access to fractional shares and Netflix’s institutional-heavy shareholder base create structural barriers that make both unlikely split prospects—at least in the near term.

The lesson for investors hunting the next big winner? Look beyond share price. The real catalyst for recent stock splits comes from companies where retail investors are clamoring for accessibility and actually represent a meaningful chunk of ownership.