COST vs DE: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Deere & Company — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-07-09.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$947.50
-1.4% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Deere & Company · Industrials
$596.74
-29.8% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
COST has more upside to fair value
(-1.4%).
DE trades at a lower forward P/E
(33.7x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
DE |
| Current Price |
$947.50 |
$596.74 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$933.84 |
$418.72 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-1.4%
|
-29.8%
|
| Market Cap |
$420.2B |
$161.1B |
| Forward P/E |
47.6x
|
33.7x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
28.3x
|
19.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.4x
|
3.4x
|
| Price / FCF |
47.7x
|
42.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.6%
|
+6.7%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
35.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
18.4%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.3%
|
18.3%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.1%
|
2.34%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Hold
|
Investment Thesis
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates as a membership-only warehouse club offering a wide range of merchandise at low prices. The company exhibits high business quality with a durable competitive moat driven by cost advantages, strong brand loyalty, and efficient operations, reflected in a robust ROE of 28.3% and solid revenue growth of 11.6% in the most recent quarter. Despite these strengths, t…
Deere & Company operates in the agricultural machinery sector, providing durable equipment critical to farming and construction industries. The business quality is high, supported by a strong 18.3% return on equity and solid gross and operating margins of 35.4% and 18.4%, respectively. However, the stock is currently overvalued, trading approximately 30% above its fair value estimate of $418.72, …
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
DE |
| Zone Low |
$700.38 |
$314.04 |
| Zone High |
$793.76 |
$355.91 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|