COST vs HON: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Honeywell International Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$1,002.88
-35.4% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Honeywell International Inc. · Industrials
$235.04
-9.9% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
HON has more upside to fair value
(-9.9%).
HON trades at a lower forward P/E
(22.3x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
HON |
| Current Price |
$1,002.88 |
$235.04 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$648.03 |
$211.73 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-35.4%
|
-9.9%
|
| Market Cap |
$444.9B |
$149.4B |
| Forward P/E |
52.1x
|
22.3x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
31.0x
|
16.9x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
4.0x
|
| Price / FCF |
49.0x
|
27.7x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.4%
|
-2.7%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
36.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
17.7%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
33.28%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
1.92% |
| FCF Yield |
2.04%
|
3.61%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
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 …
Honeywell is a diversified industrial conglomerate in the final stages of a transformative three-way separation into Honeywell Aerospace, Solstice Advanced Materials, and a retained Automation entity, targeting Q3 2026 completion. The business generated 33% ROE and $5.4B in free cash flow on $37.4B revenue in FY2025, supported by a record $37B backlog with 23% organic order growth in Q4. At $235 …
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
HON |
| Zone Low |
$486.02 |
$158.80 |
| Zone High |
$550.83 |
$179.97 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|