COST vs TSLA: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Tesla, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-10.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$1,002.88
-35.4% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Tesla, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$343.23
-5.3% upside to fair value
Low Conviction
Grade D
QuantHub Verdict
TSLA has more upside to fair value
(-5.3%).
COST trades at a lower forward P/E
(52.1x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
TSLA |
| Current Price |
$1,002.88 |
$343.23 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$648.03 |
$325.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-35.4%
|
-5.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$444.9B |
$1,287.9B |
| Forward P/E |
52.1x
|
205.5x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
31.0x
|
108.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
13.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
49.0x
|
207.1x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.4%
|
-2.9%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
18.0%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
4.6%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
4.8%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.04%
|
0.48%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
—
|
Investment Thesis
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global membership-based warehouse club model with over 900 warehouses across 14 countries, generating $254 billion in fiscal 2024 revenue. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat driven by scale advantages, a loyal membership base with high renewal rates, and superior employee retention through better wages and benefits. Despite steady revenue …
Tesla remains the most polarizing stock in markets. The core auto business is deteriorating: FY2025 revenue fell 2.9% to $94.8B, net income dropped 46.8% to $3.8B, and Q4 deliveries declined 15.6% YoY to 418K units. Yet the stock trades at 13.6x TTM P/S (near 5yr highs) on the optionality of Cybercab robotaxis launching April 2026, FSD reaching unsupervised status in Austin, and Optimus humanoid …
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
TSLA |
| Zone Low |
$486.02 |
$244.00 |
| Zone High |
$550.83 |
$276.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|