COST vs GOOGL: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Alphabet Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-20.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$999.89
-20.7% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
VS
Alphabet Inc. · Communication Services
$341.68
-4.2% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
GOOGL has more upside to fair value
(-4.2%).
GOOGL trades at a lower forward P/E
(31.2x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
GOOGL |
| Current Price |
$999.89 |
$341.68 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$793.02 |
$327.32 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-20.7%
|
-4.2%
|
| Market Cap |
$443.6B |
$4,133.3B |
| Forward P/E |
51.9x
|
31.2x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
30.9x
|
23.1x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
10.3x
|
| Price / FCF |
48.8x
|
56.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+9.2%
|
+18.1%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
59.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
32.0%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
35.0%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.05%
|
1.77%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
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…
Alphabet Inc. operates as a global leader in internet content and information services, primarily through its dominant Google Services segment, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat driven by its dominant market shares in search, browser, and mobile OS, as well as significant infrastructure advantages in AI and cloud computing. Despite trading at a ver…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
GOOGL |
| Zone Low |
$594.76 |
$245.49 |
| Zone High |
$674.07 |
$278.22 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|