COST vs MS: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Morgan Stanley — 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
Morgan Stanley · Financial Services
$206.27
+15.9% 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 |
MS |
| Current Price |
$896.48 |
$206.27 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$1,117.50 |
$239.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+24.7%
|
+15.9%
|
| Market Cap |
$397.6B |
$325.4B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
32.7x
|
23.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.3x
|
2.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
42.4x
|
—
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.1%
|
+22.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
17.5%
|
59.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.9%
|
20.7%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.0%
|
18.1%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.62% |
2.01% |
| FCF Yield |
2.36%
|
—
|
| 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…
Morgan Stanley is a diversified capital-markets and wealth-management franchise spanning institutional securities, advisor-led and self-directed wealth, workplace services, and investment management. Business quality is solid but inherently cyclical: it combines $8.084 trillion of wealth client assets and $2.004 trillion of investment-management AUM/AUS with a strengthening 15.5% institutional pe…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
MS |
| Zone Low |
$838.12 |
$179.25 |
| Zone High |
$949.88 |
$203.15 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
No
|