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 2026-04-22.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$999.89
-20.7% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
VS
Morgan Stanley · Financial Services
$189.30
+45.0% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MS has more upside to fair value
(+45.0%).
MS trades at a lower forward P/E
(16.4x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
MS |
| Current Price |
$999.89 |
$189.30 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$793.02 |
$274.49 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-20.7%
|
+45.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$443.6B |
$300.6B |
| Forward P/E |
51.9x
|
16.4x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
30.9x
|
24.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
2.5x
|
| Price / FCF |
48.8x
|
-16.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+9.2%
|
+18.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
58.0%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
19.5%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
16.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.05%
|
—
|
| 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…
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm operating in Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat supported by its systemically important status, diversified revenue streams, and strong management with a 36-year veteran CEO. Despite solid fundamentals including 14.2% revenue growth in 2025 and 16.7%…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
MS |
| Zone Low |
$594.76 |
$205.87 |
| Zone High |
$674.07 |
$233.32 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|