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 2026-07-08.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$947.50
-1.4% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Microsoft Corporation · Technology
$379.40
+45.0% upside to fair value
Grade A
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MSFT has more upside to fair value
(+45.0%).
MSFT trades at a lower forward P/E
(22.5x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
MSFT |
| Current Price |
$947.50 |
$379.40 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$933.84 |
$550.13 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-1.4%
|
+45.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$420.2B |
$2,818.3B |
| Forward P/E |
47.6x
|
22.5x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
28.3x
|
14.2x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.4x
|
8.9x
|
| Price / FCF |
47.7x
|
38.6x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.6%
|
+18.3%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
68.3%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
46.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.3%
|
33.1%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.1%
|
2.59%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
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…
Microsoft Corporation is a leading global technology company specializing in cloud computing, productivity software, and enterprise platforms. The company benefits from a very strong and widening competitive moat supported by scale, switching costs, an integrated ecosystem, and disciplined capital allocation including large buybacks and dividends. Its business quality is high, demonstrated by a 3…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
MSFT |
| Zone Low |
$700.38 |
$412.60 |
| Zone High |
$793.76 |
$467.61 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|