Stocks / CL vs COST

CL vs COST: Which Stock Is the Better Buy?

Colgate-Palmolive Company and Costco Wholesale Corporation side by side — fundamentals from SEC filings, refreshed nightly. Sector: Consumer Defensive.

On the fundamentals, COST grows revenue faster (10.5% vs 4.4%); CL earns a higher net margin (10.5% vs 2.9%); CL has the stronger return on equity (3948.1% vs 27.8%). Neither shows an obvious red flag in the filings. Full numbers below — the stronger figure on each row is in green.

AI verdict — CL vs COST, read from the filings

The stronger business, the cheaper stock, and the risks — synthesised from both companies’ SEC filings, every figure computed not guessed. Not investment advice.

 Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL)Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST)
Market cap$422.1B
Revenue (latest FY)$20.38B$275.24B
Net income (latest FY)$2.13B$8.10B
Revenue growth (5y CAGR)4.4%10.5%
Net margin10.5%2.9%
Return on equity3948.1%27.8%
P/E ratio35.947.9
Dividend yield2.3%0.6%
Profitable years (of last 10)1010
Positive free cash flowYesYes

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Use the filing period and source shown by each tool before treating two figures as comparable.

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See the full CL vs COST breakdown

Both companies across 19 years of income statement, balance sheet and cash flow — with ratios, health checks and Ask, the SEC-grounded research assistant. Free, no account needed.

Open CL's full financials →   Open COST's full financials →

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Frequently asked questions

Which is bigger, CL or COST?

Market capitalization data is not available for both companies.

Which grows faster, CL or COST?

Over the last five fiscal years, Costco Wholesale Corporation grew revenue faster — 10.5%/yr versus 4.4%/yr, computed from SEC-filed statements.

Where does this data come from?

All figures are computed from official SEC filings (10-K), refreshed nightly. This is a data comparison, not investment advice.

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