COST vs MAR: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Marriott International, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-25.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$896.48
+24.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
High Quality
VS
Marriott International, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$334.97
+20.6% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
COST has more upside to fair value
(+24.7%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
MAR |
| Current Price |
$896.48 |
$334.97 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$1,117.50 |
$403.81 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+24.7%
|
+20.6%
|
| Market Cap |
$397.6B |
$87.3B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
32.7x
|
22.2x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.3x
|
3.2x
|
| Price / FCF |
42.4x
|
28.7x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.1%
|
+4.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
17.5%
|
20.2%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.9%
|
15.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.0%
|
-66.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.62% |
0.84% |
| FCF Yield |
2.36%
|
3.48%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Hold
|
Investment Thesis
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-com…
Marriott International is a global asset-light hotel franchisor and manager whose 10,082-property, 1.814 million-room system, 629,000-room development pipeline, broad brands, and more than 295 million Bonvoy members support durable fee-led economics. Business quality is tempered by cyclicality, competitive owner incentives, and $16.915 billion of debt, while reported ROE is negative 66.7%. In the…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
MAR |
| Zone Low |
$838.12 |
$302.86 |
| Zone High |
$949.88 |
$343.24 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|