COST vs XOM: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Exxon Mobil Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-01.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$999.89
-20.7% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
VS
Exxon Mobil Corporation · Energy
$154.46
-40.5% upside to fair value
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
COST has more upside to fair value
(-20.7%).
XOM trades at a lower forward P/E
(23.2x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
XOM |
| Current Price |
$999.89 |
$154.46 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$793.02 |
$91.87 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-20.7%
|
-40.5%
|
| Market Cap |
$443.6B |
$642.0B |
| Forward P/E |
51.9x
|
23.2x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
30.9x
|
10.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
2.0x
|
| Price / FCF |
48.8x
|
27.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+9.2%
|
-1.3%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
21.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
10.5%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
11.0%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.05%
|
3.68%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
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…
Exxon Mobil Corporation operates as a global integrated oil and gas company with significant operations in upstream, energy products, chemical products, and specialty products segments. The company benefits from a highly experienced management team with decades of internal tenure, led by CEO Darren Woods. Despite strong cash flow generation and operational scale, Exxon is currently overvalued, tr…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
XOM |
| Zone Low |
$594.76 |
$68.90 |
| Zone High |
$674.07 |
$78.09 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|