COST vs MSFT: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Microsoft Corporation — 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
Microsoft Corporation · Technology
$497.12
+41.3% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MSFT has more upside to fair value
(+41.3%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
MSFT |
| Current Price |
$896.48 |
$497.12 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$1,117.50 |
$702.35 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+24.7%
|
+41.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$397.6B |
$3,691.4B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
32.7x
|
18.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.3x
|
11.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
42.4x
|
55.1x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.1%
|
+17.7%
|
| Gross Margin |
17.5%
|
67.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.9%
|
46.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.0%
|
33.2%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.62% |
0.73% |
| FCF Yield |
2.36%
|
1.81%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
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…
Microsoft is a global infrastructure-software platform spanning Azure, Microsoft 365, security, Dynamics, Windows, GitHub and AI copilots, with high business quality supported by enterprise distribution, explicitly cited switching costs, a $678 billion commercial RPO balance, 67.9% TTM gross margin, 46.8% TTM operating margin, 40.3% TTM net margin and 33.2% ROE. Revenue grew 17.7% and earnings gr…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
MSFT |
| Zone Low |
$838.12 |
$526.76 |
| Zone High |
$949.88 |
$597.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|