The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that equity investors in the U.S. have faced challenges, as buying "medium-to-high" valued stocks has often outperformed the traditional approach of buying low. A Financial Times dispatch to the Post reports that the value investment strategy, based on "reversion to mean," has struggled over the past 15 years as the market shifts focus to future growth. Stocks with low price-to-forward earnings ratios may indicate impaired prospects, while seemingly expensive stocks could be justified by their strong performance and potential for future strength. However, at some point, the valuation of a stock can become extreme. One such current case is Costco, the enormous membership-only retailer. Its stock bottomed out after it posted disappointing earnings in May, 2022, but since then it has more than doubled. This was partly driven by the fundamental performance of the company but also by investors putting a higher valuation on it. Costco's forward price-to-earnings ratio has expanded from 31 to a punchy 50 times. FT calls it a lofty increase in valuation for a mature company founded in 1983. FT says a valuation multiple of 50 times forecast earnings seems incredibly high.