AMZN vs COST: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Amazon.com, Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corporation β€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-04-10.
Amazon.com, Inc. Β· Consumer Cyclical
$238.12
+59.3% upside to fair value
Grade B High Quality
VS
Costco Wholesale Corporation Β· Consumer Defensive
$1,002.88
-35.4% upside to fair value
Grade C High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
AMZN has more upside to fair value (+59.3%). AMZN trades at a lower forward P/E (32.8x). These are model outputs β€” not personalized investment advice. See all research β†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric AMZN COST
Current Price $238.12 $1,002.88
Fair Value Estimate $379.40 $648.03
Upside to Fair Value +59.3% -35.4%
Market Cap $2,556.2B $444.9B
Forward P/E 32.8x 52.1x
EV / EBITDA 15.9x 31.0x
Price / Sales 3.6x 1.6x
Price / FCF 332.2x 49.0x
Revenue Growth YoY +18.4% +3.4%
Gross Margin 50.3% 12.9%
Operating Margin 11.2% 3.8%
Return on Equity 21.9% 28.8%
Dividend Yield 0% 0%
FCF Yield 0.3% 2.04%
Analyst Consensus Strong Buy Strong Buy
Investment Thesis
AMZN β€” Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc. operates as the world's largest e-commerce and cloud computing company, with a diversified revenue base spanning online retail, third-party seller services, AWS cloud, advertising, and subscription services. The business quality is high due to its durable competitive moats including AWS's leadership in cloud infrastructure and Amazon's dominant e-commerce platform. Despite strong…
COST β€” Costco Wholesale Corporation
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global membership-based warehouse club model with over 900 warehouses across 14 countries, generating $254 billion in fiscal 2024 revenue. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat driven by scale advantages, a loyal membership base with high renewal rates, and superior employee retention through better wages and benefits. Despite steady revenue …
Accumulation Zones
Metric AMZN COST
Zone Low $284.55 $486.02
Zone High $322.49 $550.83
In Buy Zone? Yes No
← AMZN Research    COST Research β†’    All Research