COST vs LULU: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Lululemon Athletica Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-04.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$999.89
-19.1% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
VS
Lululemon Athletica Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$128.98
+307.7% upside to fair value
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
LULU has more upside to fair value
(+307.7%).
LULU trades at a lower forward P/E
(9.7x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
LULU |
| Current Price |
$999.89 |
$128.98 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$808.71 |
$525.85 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-19.1%
|
+307.7%
|
| Market Cap |
$443.6B |
$15.1B |
| Forward P/E |
51.9x
|
9.7x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
30.9x
|
5.6x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
1.4x
|
| Price / FCF |
48.8x
|
16.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+9.2%
|
+0.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
56.6%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
19.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
34.8%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.05%
|
6.09%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Hold
|
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…
Lululemon Athletica Inc. is a premium athletic apparel retailer operating primarily in the consumer cyclical sector with a focus on apparel retail. The company has a strong brand and historically high profitability with a gross margin of 56.6% and ROE of 34.8%, but it faces significant near-term challenges including earnings pressure with a 21.6% decline in earnings in the most recent quarter and…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
LULU |
| Zone Low |
$606.53 |
$394.39 |
| Zone High |
$687.40 |
$446.97 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|