COST vs DHR: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Danaher Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-07-10.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$947.50
-1.4% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Danaher Corporation · Healthcare
$195.98
+7.9% upside to fair value
Grade B
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
DHR has more upside to fair value
(+7.9%).
DHR trades at a lower forward P/E
(37.8x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
DHR |
| Current Price |
$947.50 |
$195.98 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$933.84 |
$211.54 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-1.4%
|
+7.9%
|
| Market Cap |
$420.2B |
$138.7B |
| Forward P/E |
47.6x
|
37.8x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
28.3x
|
22.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.4x
|
5.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
47.7x
|
26.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.6%
|
+3.7%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
60.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
21.0%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.3%
|
7.1%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.1%
|
3.81%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
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…
Danaher Corporation operates in the healthcare sector, specifically in medical diagnostics and research, delivering high-quality products with a durable competitive moat supported by strong margins and consistent earnings growth. The company trades at a trailing and forward P/E of 37.76, which is relatively high but justified by its stable revenue growth of 3.7% and earnings growth of 7.9% in the…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
DHR |
| Zone Low |
$700.38 |
$158.66 |
| Zone High |
$793.76 |
$179.81 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|