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Costco Wholesale (COST) Competitors

Costco Wholesale logo
$1,011.00 -17.24 (-1.68%)
As of 09:33 AM Eastern

COST vs. AAPL, AMZN, CASY, LULU, and ROST

Should you buy Costco Wholesale stock or one of its competitors? MarketBeat compares Costco Wholesale with other companies and stocks that may be similar based on industry, sector, market capitalization, business model, investor interest, or shared news coverage. Companies and stocks commonly compared with Costco Wholesale include Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Casey's General Stores (CASY), lululemon athletica (LULU), and Ross Stores (ROST).

How does Costco Wholesale compare to Apple?

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are related large-cap companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

In the previous week, Apple had 94 more articles in the media than Costco Wholesale. MarketBeat recorded 223 mentions for Apple and 129 mentions for Costco Wholesale. Apple's average media sentiment score of 1.03 beat Costco Wholesale's score of 0.86 indicating that Apple is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Costco Wholesale
70 Very Positive mention(s)
22 Positive mention(s)
28 Neutral mention(s)
8 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Apple
155 Very Positive mention(s)
23 Positive mention(s)
26 Neutral mention(s)
15 Negative mention(s)
4 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than Costco Wholesale. Apple is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costco Wholesale, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Costco Wholesale$275.24B1.63$8.10B$19.2352.57
Apple$416.16B10.96$112.01B$8.2737.55

Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Apple has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the broader market.

68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of Apple shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Apple shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Apple has a net margin of 27.15% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 2.99%. Apple's return on equity of 146.69% beat Costco Wholesale's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Costco Wholesale2.99% 28.57% 10.63%
Apple 27.15%146.69%34.02%

Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus price target of $1,052.60, indicating a potential upside of 4.11%. Apple has a consensus price target of $308.74, indicating a potential downside of 0.58%. Given Costco Wholesale's higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Costco Wholesale is more favorable than Apple.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
11 Hold rating(s)
22 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.62
Apple
1 Sell rating(s)
11 Hold rating(s)
22 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.66

Costco Wholesale pays an annual dividend of $5.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Costco Wholesale pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Apple pays out 13.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Costco Wholesale has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Apple has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Costco Wholesale is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Apple beats Costco Wholesale on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Costco Wholesale compare to Amazon.com?

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Amazon.com has higher revenue and earnings than Costco Wholesale. Amazon.com is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costco Wholesale, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Amazon.com$716.92B4.02$77.67B$8.3632.05
Costco Wholesale$275.24B1.63$8.10B$19.2352.57

Amazon.com has a beta of 1.46, suggesting that its share price is 46% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the broader market.

Amazon.com presently has a consensus target price of $312.66, suggesting a potential upside of 16.71%. Costco Wholesale has a consensus target price of $1,052.60, suggesting a potential upside of 4.11%. Given Amazon.com's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Amazon.com is more favorable than Costco Wholesale.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Amazon.com
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
57 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.95
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
11 Hold rating(s)
22 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.62

Amazon.com has a net margin of 12.22% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 2.99%. Costco Wholesale's return on equity of 28.57% beat Amazon.com's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Amazon.com12.22% 19.92% 9.86%
Costco Wholesale 2.99%28.57%10.63%

In the previous week, Amazon.com had 102 more articles in the media than Costco Wholesale. MarketBeat recorded 231 mentions for Amazon.com and 129 mentions for Costco Wholesale. Amazon.com's average media sentiment score of 0.91 beat Costco Wholesale's score of 0.86 indicating that Amazon.com is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Amazon.com
146 Very Positive mention(s)
39 Positive mention(s)
24 Neutral mention(s)
9 Negative mention(s)
11 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Costco Wholesale
70 Very Positive mention(s)
22 Positive mention(s)
28 Neutral mention(s)
8 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

72.2% of Amazon.com shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.9% of Amazon.com shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Amazon.com beats Costco Wholesale on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Costco Wholesale compare to Casey's General Stores?

Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) and Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Casey's General Stores has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its share price is 35% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the broader market.

Casey's General Stores currently has a consensus price target of $737.36, suggesting a potential downside of 10.11%. Costco Wholesale has a consensus price target of $1,052.60, suggesting a potential upside of 4.11%. Given Costco Wholesale's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Costco Wholesale is more favorable than Casey's General Stores.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Casey's General Stores
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
9 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.69
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
11 Hold rating(s)
22 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.62

Casey's General Stores pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Costco Wholesale pays an annual dividend of $5.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Casey's General Stores pays out 13.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Costco Wholesale pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Casey's General Stores has increased its dividend for 24 consecutive years and Costco Wholesale has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Costco Wholesale has higher revenue and earnings than Casey's General Stores. Casey's General Stores is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costco Wholesale, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Casey's General Stores$15.94B1.90$546.52M$17.4247.09
Costco Wholesale$275.24B1.63$8.10B$19.2352.57

Casey's General Stores has a net margin of 3.83% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 2.99%. Costco Wholesale's return on equity of 28.57% beat Casey's General Stores' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Casey's General Stores3.83% 17.56% 7.70%
Costco Wholesale 2.99%28.57%10.63%

85.6% of Casey's General Stores shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Casey's General Stores shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Costco Wholesale shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 118 more articles in the media than Casey's General Stores. MarketBeat recorded 129 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 11 mentions for Casey's General Stores. Casey's General Stores' average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat Costco Wholesale's score of 0.86 indicating that Casey's General Stores is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Casey's General Stores
5 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
5 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Costco Wholesale
70 Very Positive mention(s)
22 Positive mention(s)
28 Neutral mention(s)
8 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

Costco Wholesale beats Casey's General Stores on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Costco Wholesale compare to lululemon athletica?

lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) and Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) are related large-cap companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, media sentiment, earnings, dividends and risk.

85.2% of lululemon athletica shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of lululemon athletica shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

lululemon athletica currently has a consensus price target of $201.66, indicating a potential upside of 59.40%. Costco Wholesale has a consensus price target of $1,052.60, indicating a potential upside of 4.11%. Given lululemon athletica's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe lululemon athletica is more favorable than Costco Wholesale.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
lululemon athletica
2 Sell rating(s)
28 Hold rating(s)
2 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.06
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
11 Hold rating(s)
22 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.62

lululemon athletica has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the broader market.

Costco Wholesale has higher revenue and earnings than lululemon athletica. lululemon athletica is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costco Wholesale, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
lululemon athletica$11.10B1.38$1.58B$13.309.51
Costco Wholesale$275.24B1.63$8.10B$19.2352.57

lululemon athletica has a net margin of 14.22% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 2.99%. lululemon athletica's return on equity of 34.82% beat Costco Wholesale's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
lululemon athletica14.22% 34.82% 20.14%
Costco Wholesale 2.99%28.57%10.63%

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 99 more articles in the media than lululemon athletica. MarketBeat recorded 129 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 30 mentions for lululemon athletica. Costco Wholesale's average media sentiment score of 0.86 beat lululemon athletica's score of 0.12 indicating that Costco Wholesale is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
lululemon athletica
10 Very Positive mention(s)
5 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
5 Negative mention(s)
5 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Costco Wholesale
70 Very Positive mention(s)
22 Positive mention(s)
28 Neutral mention(s)
8 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

Costco Wholesale beats lululemon athletica on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Costco Wholesale compare to Ross Stores?

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) and Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.9% of Ross Stores shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Ross Stores shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Costco Wholesale pays an annual dividend of $5.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Ross Stores pays an annual dividend of $1.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Costco Wholesale pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ross Stores pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Costco Wholesale has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Ross Stores has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Ross Stores is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus target price of $1,052.60, indicating a potential upside of 4.11%. Ross Stores has a consensus target price of $230.88, indicating a potential downside of 0.85%. Given Costco Wholesale's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Costco Wholesale is more favorable than Ross Stores.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
11 Hold rating(s)
22 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.62
Ross Stores
0 Sell rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
16 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.76

Ross Stores has a net margin of 9.74% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 2.99%. Ross Stores' return on equity of 39.02% beat Costco Wholesale's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Costco Wholesale2.99% 28.57% 10.63%
Ross Stores 9.74%39.02%15.28%

Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its share price is 8% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Ross Stores has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 76 more articles in the media than Ross Stores. MarketBeat recorded 129 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 53 mentions for Ross Stores. Costco Wholesale's average media sentiment score of 0.86 beat Ross Stores' score of 0.79 indicating that Costco Wholesale is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Costco Wholesale
70 Very Positive mention(s)
22 Positive mention(s)
28 Neutral mention(s)
8 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Ross Stores
23 Very Positive mention(s)
6 Positive mention(s)
16 Neutral mention(s)
2 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Costco Wholesale has higher revenue and earnings than Ross Stores. Ross Stores is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costco Wholesale, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Costco Wholesale$275.24B1.63$8.10B$19.2352.57
Ross Stores$22.75B3.30$2.15B$7.1632.52

Summary

Costco Wholesale beats Ross Stores on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding COST and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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COST vs. The Competition

MetricCostco WholesaleRETAIL IndustryRetail SectorNASDAQ Exchange
Market Cap$448.53B$103.89B$27.26B$12.34B
Dividend Yield0.57%1.54%178.40%5.28%
P/E Ratio52.5725.6419.8125.66
Price / Sales1.631.584.1186.31
Price / Cash43.7420.9014.9556.67
Price / Book15.378.925.197.14
Net Income$8.10B$2.87B$957.86M$335.98M
7 Day Performance-7.61%3.80%2.52%4.11%
1 Month Performance-0.01%-2.18%-0.78%2.52%
1 Year Performance0.25%29.98%1.97%35.04%

Costco Wholesale Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
COST
Costco Wholesale
3.5551 of 5 stars
$1,011.00
-1.7%
$1,052.60
+4.1%
+2.0%$448.53B$275.24B52.57341,000
AAPL
Apple
4.2628 of 5 stars
$297.84
-0.8%
$308.74
+3.7%
+58.2%$4.37T$416.16B36.01166,000
AMZN
Amazon.com
4.7764 of 5 stars
$264.86
+0.3%
$312.67
+18.1%
+32.5%$2.85T$742.78B31.681,576,000
CASY
Casey's General Stores
3.9737 of 5 stars
$855.87
+0.4%
$737.36
-13.8%
+85.1%$31.63B$16.98B49.1349,272
LULU
lululemon athletica
4.704 of 5 stars
$120.26
+0.9%
$203.80
+69.5%
-59.1%$14.52B$11.10B9.0439,000

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This page (NASDAQ:COST) was last updated on 5/26/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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