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 2026-07-20.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$947.50
-1.4% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Marriott International, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$366.24
-3.4% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
COST has more upside to fair value
(-1.4%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
MAR |
| Current Price |
$947.50 |
$366.24 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$933.84 |
$353.64 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-1.4%
|
-3.4%
|
| Market Cap |
$420.2B |
$96.6B |
| Forward P/E |
47.6x
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
28.3x
|
23.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.4x
|
3.7x
|
| Price / FCF |
47.7x
|
31.6x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.6%
|
+6.2%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
21.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
16.0%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.3%
|
-74.1%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0.75% |
| FCF Yield |
2.1%
|
3.17%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Hold
|
Investment Thesis
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates as a membership-only warehouse club offering a wide range of merchandise at low prices. The company exhibits high business quality with a durable competitive moat driven by cost advantages, strong brand loyalty, and efficient operations, reflected in a robust ROE of 28.3% and solid revenue growth of 11.6% in the most recent quarter. Despite these strengths, t…
Marriott International is a global asset-light hotel franchisor, manager and licensor whose high-quality brands, nearly 283 million Bonvoy members, more than 9,900 properties across 146 countries and record 4,107-property development pipeline create meaningful network, distribution and brand advantages. Q1 2026 demonstrated resilient underlying fee economics: adjusted revenue excluding cost-reimb…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
MAR |
| Zone Low |
$700.38 |
$265.23 |
| Zone High |
$793.76 |
$300.59 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|