Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) vs Walmart Inc. (WMT)

A side-by-side look at how these two compare on valuation, profitability and shareholder returns.

Costco Wholesale vs Walmart at a glance

Both companies operate in the Consumer Staples sector, so these figures are broadly like-for-like.

MetricCOSTWMT
Market cap$420.28B$822.45B
Price$945.47$103.09
P/E ratio (TTM)51.3745.36
P/B ratio (MRQ)14.279.97
P/S ratio (TTM)1.511.39
Revenue growth (1Y)8.17%4.73%
Return on equity (TTM)27.77%21.98%
Return on invested capital (TTM)20.62%13.32%
Gross margin (TTM)12.93%25.23%
Net margin (TTM)2.99%3.04%
Dividend yield (TTM)0.62%0.96%

How they differ

Walmart is the larger company at $822.45B versus $420.28B — about 2.0x the size.

On trailing earnings, Walmart is the cheaper of the two at 45.36 against 51.37 for Costco Wholesale.

On sales, Walmart is the cheaper of the two at 1.39 against 1.51 for Costco Wholesale.

Costco Wholesale leads on revenue growth over the past year, 8.17% against 4.73%.

Costco Wholesale leads on return on invested capital, 20.62% against 13.32%.

Walmart leads on gross margin, 25.23% against 12.93%.

Walmart offers the higher yield at 0.96% against 0.62%.

Go deeper

Ratios describe the past. Whether either is worth owning depends on what you pay today.

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