COST vs WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Buy?
Costco Wholesale Corporation and Walmart Inc. side by side — fundamentals from SEC filings, refreshed nightly. Sector: Consumer Defensive.
AI verdict — COST vs WMT, 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.
| Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) | Walmart Inc. (WMT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $422.1B | $884.9B |
| Revenue (latest FY) | $275.24B | $706.41B |
| Net income (latest FY) | $8.10B | $21.89B |
| Revenue growth (5y CAGR) | 10.5% | 4.8% |
| Net margin | 2.9% | 3.1% |
| Return on equity | 27.8% | 22.0% |
| P/E ratio | 47.9 | 39.2 |
| Dividend yield | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| Profitable years (of last 10) | 10 | 10 |
| Positive free cash flow | Yes | Yes |
Verify the comparison
Use the filing period and source shown by each tool before treating two figures as comparable.
See the full COST vs WMT 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 COST's full financials → Open WMT's full financials →Frequently asked questions
Which is bigger, COST or WMT?
Walmart Inc. is larger by market capitalization — $884.9B versus $422.1B.
Which grows faster, COST or WMT?
Over the last five fiscal years, Costco Wholesale Corporation grew revenue faster — 10.5%/yr versus 4.8%/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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