COST vs WMT: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Walmart Inc. — 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
Walmart Inc. · Consumer Defensive
$117.18
-39.6% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
COST has more upside to fair value
(-1.4%).
WMT trades at a lower forward P/E
(41.1x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
WMT |
| Current Price |
$947.50 |
$117.18 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$933.84 |
$70.81 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-1.4%
|
-39.6%
|
| Market Cap |
$420.2B |
$932.5B |
| Forward P/E |
47.6x
|
41.1x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
28.3x
|
20.7x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.4x
|
1.3x
|
| Price / FCF |
47.7x
|
74.3x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.6%
|
+7.3%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
25.0%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
4.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.3%
|
24.3%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.1%
|
1.35%
|
| 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…
Walmart Inc. operates as a leading discount retailer with a strong competitive moat built on scale, cost leadership, and advanced logistics and technology infrastructure. The company benefits from a diversified revenue base with Walmart U.S. contributing 69%, International 18%, and Sam's Club 13%. Despite solid revenue growth of 7.3% and earnings growth of 25.9% in the most recent quarter, the st…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
WMT |
| Zone Low |
$700.38 |
$53.11 |
| Zone High |
$793.76 |
$60.19 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|