COST vs GS: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. โ€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-09-25.
Costco Wholesale Corporation ยท Consumer Defensive
$896.48
+24.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction Grade B High Quality
VS
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ยท Financial Services
$923.29
+25.9% upside to fair value
Med Conviction Grade C High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
GS has more upside to fair value (+25.9%). These are model outputs โ€” not personalized investment advice. See all research โ†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric COST GS
Current Price $896.48 $923.29
Fair Value Estimate $1,117.50 $1,162.79
Upside to Fair Value +24.7% +25.9%
Market Cap $397.6B $272.4B
Forward P/E โ€” โ€”
EV / EBITDA 32.7x 26.3x
Price / Sales 1.3x 2.3x
Price / FCF 42.4x โ€”
Revenue Growth YoY +11.1% +22.9%
Gross Margin 17.5% 57.3%
Operating Margin 3.9% 24.8%
Return on Equity 28.0% 17.0%
Dividend Yield 0.62% 1.95%
FCF Yield 2.36% โ€”
Analyst Consensus Strong Buy Hold
Investment Thesis
COST โ€” Costco Wholesale Corporation
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global network of membership-based warehouse clubs, selling branded and private-label merchandise across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, and China, supplemented by pharmacies, optical centers, food courts, hearing aid centers, tire installation, 636 gas stations, and e-comโ€ฆ
GS โ€” The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Goldman Sachs is a global financial services firm operating four divisions: Investment Banking, Global Markets, Asset Management, and Consumer & Wealth Management, with 46,200 full-time employees and a market cap of $272.38 billion at a current price of $923.29. The business quality is high because of its leading franchise in advisory, underwriting, and trading, evidenced by a 17.0% ROE, a 57.3% โ€ฆ
Accumulation Zones
Metric COST GS
Zone Low $838.12 $872.09
Zone High $949.88 $988.37
In Buy Zone? Yes Yes
โ† COST Research    GS Research โ†’    All Research