COST vs PANW: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-24.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$999.89
-20.7% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
VS
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. · Technology
$174.41
-0.1% upside to fair value
Grade B
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
PANW has more upside to fair value
(-0.1%).
COST trades at a lower forward P/E
(51.9x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
PANW |
| Current Price |
$999.89 |
$174.41 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$793.02 |
$174.18 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-20.7%
|
-0.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$443.6B |
$118.9B |
| Forward P/E |
51.9x
|
94.6x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
30.9x
|
52.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
12.0x
|
| Price / FCF |
48.8x
|
29.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+9.2%
|
+14.9%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
73.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
14.4%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
15.5%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.05%
|
3.42%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
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…
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a leading global cybersecurity company specializing in AI-driven security platforms with a strong recurring revenue base exceeding 80% of total revenue. The company benefits from a high gross margin of 73.5% and solid profitability with a net margin of 13.0%, supported by accelerating revenue growth of 14.9% and earnings growth of 61.6% in the most recent quarter. Unde…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
PANW |
| Zone Low |
$594.76 |
$130.63 |
| Zone High |
$674.07 |
$148.05 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|