COST vs TMO: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-04.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$999.89
-19.1% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
VS
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. · Healthcare
$462.60
+10.1% upside to fair value
Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
TMO has more upside to fair value
(+10.1%).
TMO trades at a lower forward P/E
(25.1x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
TMO |
| Current Price |
$999.89 |
$462.60 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$808.71 |
$509.20 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-19.1%
|
+10.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$443.6B |
$171.9B |
| Forward P/E |
51.9x
|
25.1x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
30.9x
|
19.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
3.8x
|
| Price / FCF |
48.8x
|
25.5x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+9.2%
|
+6.2%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
39.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
17.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
13.3%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.05%
|
3.92%
|
| 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…
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. operates in the healthcare sector, specializing in medical diagnostics and research tools across four main segments: Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services, Life Sciences Solutions, Analytical Instruments, and Specialty Diagnostics. The company demonstrates medium business quality with steady revenue growth of 6.2% and earnings growth of 9.6% in the most recent q…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
TMO |
| Zone Low |
$606.53 |
$381.90 |
| Zone High |
$687.40 |
$432.82 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|