BAC vs COST: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Bank of America Corporation and Costco Wholesale Corporation โ€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-04-11.
Bank of America Corporation ยท Financial Services
$52.54
+7.3% upside to fair value
Grade B+
VS
Costco Wholesale Corporation ยท Consumer Defensive
$1,002.88
-35.4% upside to fair value
Grade C High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
BAC has more upside to fair value (+7.3%). BAC trades at a lower forward P/E (12.1x). These are model outputs โ€” not personalized investment advice. See all research โ†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric BAC COST
Current Price $52.54 $1,002.88
Fair Value Estimate $56.39 $648.03
Upside to Fair Value +7.3% -35.4%
Market Cap $377.1B $444.9B
Forward P/E 12.1x 52.1x
EV / EBITDA 12.8x 31.0x
Price / Sales 2.0x 1.6x
Price / FCF 29.9x 49.0x
Revenue Growth YoY -0.5% +3.4%
Gross Margin 56.1% 12.9%
Operating Margin 19.7% 3.8%
Return on Equity 10.1% 28.8%
Dividend Yield 2.09% 0%
FCF Yield 3.35% 2.04%
Analyst Consensus Buy Strong Buy
Investment Thesis
BAC โ€” Bank of America Corporation
Bank of America is a top-two U.S. bank by assets with $3.4 trillion on its balance sheet, generating $30.5 billion in net income in 2025 on the back of 12.5% earnings growth. The bank benefits from scale in consumer deposits, a recovering investment banking franchise, and an expanding digital platform serving 47 million active users. At 12.7x trailing earnings and 1.97x sales, BAC trades at a faiโ€ฆ
COST โ€” 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 โ€ฆ
Accumulation Zones
Metric BAC COST
Zone Low $42.29 $486.02
Zone High $47.93 $550.83
In Buy Zone? No No
โ† BAC Research    COST Research โ†’    All Research