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Costco Wholesale (COST) Competitors

Costco Wholesale logo
$982.00 +27.37 (+2.87%)
Closing price 04:00 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$981.70 -0.30 (-0.03%)
As of 07:59 PM Eastern
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COST vs. AMZN, CASY, LULU, ROST, and ULTA

Should you buy Costco Wholesale stock or one of its competitors? Costco Wholesale's main competitors and comparable companies include Amazon.com (AMZN), Casey's General Stores (CASY), lululemon athletica (LULU), Ross Stores (ROST), and Ulta Beauty (ULTA). Companies are selected based on similarities in market, industry, and size.

How does Costco Wholesale compare to Amazon.com?

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

Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its share price is 12% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Amazon.com has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its share price is 45% more volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, Amazon.com had 215 more articles in the media than Costco Wholesale. MarketBeat recorded 303 mentions for Amazon.com and 88 mentions for Costco Wholesale. Costco Wholesale's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat Amazon.com's score of 0.85 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
54 Very Positive mention(s)
12 Positive mention(s)
14 Neutral mention(s)
3 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Amazon.com
166 Very Positive mention(s)
60 Positive mention(s)
44 Neutral mention(s)
26 Negative mention(s)
4 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus price target of $1,046.27, suggesting a potential upside of 9.60%. Amazon.com has a consensus price target of $322.53, suggesting a potential upside of 24.73%. Given Amazon.com's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Amazon.com is more favorable than Costco Wholesale.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
23 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67
Amazon.com
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
56 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.95

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
Costco Wholesale$303.15B1.40$9.23B$20.7645.98
Amazon.com$716.92B3.89$77.67B$12.4320.80

68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.2% of Amazon.com shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.9% of Amazon.com shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Amazon.com has a net margin of 17.44% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 3.04%. Costco Wholesale's return on equity of 27.60% beat Amazon.com's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Costco Wholesale3.04% 27.60% 10.63%
Amazon.com 17.44%18.00%8.97%

Summary

Amazon.com beats Costco Wholesale on 11 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 consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Casey's General Stores currently has a consensus target price of $840.69, suggesting a potential upside of 31.00%. Costco Wholesale has a consensus target price of $1,046.27, suggesting a potential upside of 9.60%. Given Casey's General Stores' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Casey's General Stores is more favorable than Costco Wholesale.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Casey's General Stores
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
15 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.71
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
23 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

Casey's General Stores has a net margin of 4.14% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 3.04%. Costco Wholesale's return on equity of 27.60% beat Casey's General Stores' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Casey's General Stores4.14% 19.68% 8.77%
Costco Wholesale 3.04%27.60%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. 0.7% of Casey's General Stores shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Costco Wholesale shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Casey's General Stores pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. 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 12.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Costco Wholesale pays out 28.3% 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 27 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$17.56B1.35$714.45M$20.7630.91
Costco Wholesale$303.15B1.40$9.23B$20.7645.98

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 76 more articles in the media than Casey's General Stores. MarketBeat recorded 88 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 12 mentions for Casey's General Stores. Costco Wholesale's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat Casey's General Stores' score of 0.67 indicating that Costco Wholesale is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Casey's General Stores
2 Very Positive mention(s)
5 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Costco Wholesale
54 Very Positive mention(s)
12 Positive mention(s)
14 Neutral mention(s)
3 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Casey's General Stores has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Costco Wholesale beats Casey's General Stores on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Costco Wholesale compare to lululemon athletica?

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

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
Costco Wholesale$303.15B1.40$9.23B$20.7645.98
lululemon athletica$11.10B0.98$1.58B$12.217.73

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 51 more articles in the media than lululemon athletica. MarketBeat recorded 88 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 37 mentions for lululemon athletica. Costco Wholesale's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat lululemon athletica's score of 0.15 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
54 Very Positive mention(s)
12 Positive mention(s)
14 Neutral mention(s)
3 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
lululemon athletica
7 Very Positive mention(s)
4 Positive mention(s)
22 Neutral mention(s)
2 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

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

Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, lululemon athletica has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the broader market.

Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus target price of $1,046.27, suggesting a potential upside of 9.60%. lululemon athletica has a consensus target price of $106.86, suggesting a potential upside of 13.28%. Given lululemon athletica's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe lululemon athletica is more favorable than Costco Wholesale.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
23 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67
lululemon athletica
7 Sell rating(s)
21 Hold rating(s)
0 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
1.83

lululemon athletica has a net margin of 12.78% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 3.04%. lululemon athletica's return on equity of 27.69% beat Costco Wholesale's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Costco Wholesale3.04% 27.60% 10.63%
lululemon athletica 12.78%27.69%15.81%

Summary

Costco Wholesale beats lululemon athletica on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Costco Wholesale compare to Ross Stores?

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

Ross Stores has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the broader market.

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
Ross Stores$22.75B3.17$2.15B$8.2627.32
Costco Wholesale$303.15B1.40$9.23B$20.7645.98

Ross Stores has a net margin of 10.85% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 3.04%. Ross Stores' return on equity of 39.29% beat Costco Wholesale's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Ross Stores10.85% 39.29% 15.79%
Costco Wholesale 3.04%27.60%10.63%

86.9% of Ross Stores shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of Ross Stores 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.

Ross Stores pays an annual dividend of $1.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Costco Wholesale pays an annual dividend of $5.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Ross Stores pays out 21.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Costco Wholesale pays out 28.3% 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. Ross Stores has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Costco Wholesale has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Ross Stores is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 75 more articles in the media than Ross Stores. MarketBeat recorded 88 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 13 mentions for Ross Stores. Costco Wholesale's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat Ross Stores' score of 0.53 indicating that Costco Wholesale is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Ross Stores
1 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
7 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Costco Wholesale
54 Very Positive mention(s)
12 Positive mention(s)
14 Neutral mention(s)
3 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Ross Stores presently has a consensus target price of $263.76, indicating a potential upside of 16.88%. Costco Wholesale has a consensus target price of $1,046.27, indicating a potential upside of 9.60%. Given Ross Stores' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Ross Stores is more favorable than Costco Wholesale.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Ross Stores
0 Sell rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
15 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.81
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
23 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

Summary

Ross Stores beats Costco Wholesale on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Costco Wholesale compare to Ulta Beauty?

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

Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus price target of $627.83, indicating a potential upside of 8.43%. Costco Wholesale has a consensus price target of $1,046.27, indicating a potential upside of 9.60%. Given Costco Wholesale's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Costco Wholesale is more favorable than Ulta Beauty.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Ulta Beauty
0 Sell rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
24 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.75
Costco Wholesale
1 Sell rating(s)
9 Hold rating(s)
23 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.67

Costco Wholesale has higher revenue and earnings than Ulta Beauty. Ulta Beauty 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
Ulta Beauty$12.39B2.00$1.15B$27.4421.10
Costco Wholesale$303.15B1.40$9.23B$20.7645.98

Ulta Beauty has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the broader market.

Ulta Beauty has a net margin of 9.34% compared to Costco Wholesale's net margin of 3.04%. Ulta Beauty's return on equity of 45.40% beat Costco Wholesale's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Ulta Beauty9.34% 45.40% 17.37%
Costco Wholesale 3.04%27.60%10.63%

90.4% of Ulta Beauty shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Ulta Beauty 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 large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 78 more articles in the media than Ulta Beauty. MarketBeat recorded 88 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 10 mentions for Ulta Beauty. Ulta Beauty's average media sentiment score of 1.46 beat Costco Wholesale's score of 0.90 indicating that Ulta Beauty is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Ulta Beauty
9 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Costco Wholesale
54 Very Positive mention(s)
12 Positive mention(s)
14 Neutral mention(s)
3 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Summary

Ulta Beauty beats Costco Wholesale on 10 of the 16 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 WholesaleConsumer Staples Distribution & Retail IndustryConsumer Staples SectorNASDAQ Exchange
Market Cap$423.02B$27.74B$16.08B$13.18B
Dividend Yield0.62%3.30%3.29%19.60%
P/E Ratio46.6813.3711.1318.03
Price / Sales1.448.60264,976.5878.99
Price / Cash35.9742.8957.2452.75
Price / Book12.154.164.455.92
Net Income$9.23B$903.92M$844.17M$380.90M
7 Day Performance4.22%2.40%0.88%-4.38%
1 Month Performance6.87%1.50%-2.50%-7.25%
1 Year Performance3.75%-3.76%9.67%-4.95%

Costco Wholesale Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
COST
Costco Wholesale
4.3816 of 5 stars
$982.00
+2.9%
$1,081.79
+10.2%
+2.0%$423.02B$303.15B46.68355,000
AMZN
Amazon.com
4.8955 of 5 stars
$251.40
0.0%
$321.63
+27.9%
+17.5%$2.71T$716.92B20.231,576,000
CASY
Casey's General Stores
4.7135 of 5 stars
$617.33
-0.1%
$840.69
+36.2%
+13.5%$22.82B$17.56B29.7449,848
LULU
lululemon athletica
2.1389 of 5 stars
$93.14
-1.4%
$106.86
+14.7%
-44.5%$10.79B$11.10B7.6339,000
ROST
Ross Stores
4.3935 of 5 stars
$226.37
-0.9%
$263.76
+16.5%
+45.8%$72.31B$22.75B27.41111,000

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This page (NASDAQ:COST) was last updated on 10/14/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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