AAPL vs COST: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Apple Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-13.
Apple Inc. · Technology
$294.80
-9.3% upside to fair value
Grade B-
High Quality
VS
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$999.89
-20.7% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
AAPL has more upside to fair value
(-9.3%).
AAPL trades at a lower forward P/E
(35.4x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
AAPL |
COST |
| Current Price |
$294.80 |
$999.89 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$267.40 |
$793.02 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-9.3%
|
-20.7%
|
| Market Cap |
$4,329.8B |
$443.6B |
| Forward P/E |
35.4x
|
51.9x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
27.3x
|
30.9x
|
| Price / Sales |
9.6x
|
1.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
33.5x
|
48.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+16.6%
|
+9.2%
|
| Gross Margin |
47.9%
|
12.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
32.6%
|
3.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
146.7%
|
28.8%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.34% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.98%
|
2.05%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Apple Inc. is the world's most valuable consumer technology company, anchored by the iPhone franchise and a roughly $100 billion annual Services business that compounds at a low-to-mid teens rate on an installed base of approximately 2.5 billion active devices. Fiscal Q2 2026 results reported on April 30 showed revenue of $111.2 billion (+16.6% YoY) and EPS of $2.02 (+22.4% YoY), driven by a cont…
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global membership-based warehouse club model that leverages scale, low costs, and superior employee retention to deliver consistent revenue and earnings growth. The company reported $269.9 billion in net sales for fiscal 2025 with an 8% year-over-year increase, driven by strong segments in Foods and Sundries and membership fees exceeding $5.65 billion in th…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
AAPL |
COST |
| Zone Low |
$200.50 |
$594.76 |
| Zone High |
$227.30 |
$674.07 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|