COST vs. WMT: Costco Wholesale vs. Walmart Stock Comparison

July 7, 2026

How do Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT) are both classified in the Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail sub-industry within the broader Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Profile Item	COST	WMT
Name	Costco Wholesale Corporation	Walmart Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Consumer Staples	Consumer Staples
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail	Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail
GICS Industry	Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail	Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail
GICS Sub-Industry	Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail	Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail
Market Capitalization	421.42 billion USD	880.56 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	July 9, 1986	August 25, 1972
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

COST

WMT

GSPC

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Metric	COST	WMT
Total Return (1Y)	-3.18%	13.44%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	22.55%	29.72%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	20.25%	20.38%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

COST

WMT

GSPC

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Metric	COST	WMT
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	19.19%	24.46%
Beta (5Y)	0.88	0.61
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-31.40%	-25.74%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.26M	21.61M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

COST and WMT are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Metric	COST	WMT
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.37	0.39
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.52	0.57

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Costco Wholesale (COST) at 29.15% and Walmart (WMT) at 24.13% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

29.15%

Max: 37.28%
COST: 29.15%
Q3: 22.55%
Median: 14.81%
Q1: 8.71%
Min: -2.30%

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

24.13%

Max: 37.28%
WMT: 24.13%
Q3: 22.55%
Median: 14.81%
Q1: 8.71%
Min: -2.30%

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their ROE against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Costco Wholesale (COST) at 3.01% and Walmart (WMT) at 3.14% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

3.01%

Max: 6.51%
Q3: 3.35%
COST: 3.01%
Median: 2.17%
Q1: 1.06%
Min: -0.12%

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

3.14%

Max: 6.51%
Q3: 3.35%
WMT: 3.14%
Median: 2.17%
Q1: 1.06%
Min: -0.12%

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Costco Wholesale (COST) at 3.67% and Walmart (WMT) at 4.22% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

3.67%

Max: 9.24%
Q3: 5.35%
COST: 3.67%
Median: 3.45%
Q1: 1.05%
Min: -0.11%

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

4.22%

Max: 9.24%
Q3: 5.35%
WMT: 4.22%
Median: 3.45%
Q1: 1.05%
Min: -0.11%

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Metric	COST	WMT
ROE (TTM)	29.15%	24.13%
ROA (TTM)	8.67%	6.84%
Net Margin (TTM)	3.01%	3.14%
Operating Margin (TTM)	3.67%	4.22%
Gross Margin (TTM)	12.88%	24.98%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

Revenue Growth Metrics

Revenue growth metrics for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Metric	COST	WMT
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.17%	4.73%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.64%	5.27%

EPS Growth

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth Metrics

EPS growth metrics for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Metric	COST	WMT
EPS Growth (YoY)	9.96%	13.28%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	11.49%	24.25%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Costco Wholesale (COST) at 1.07 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Walmart (WMT) at 0.77 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for WMT.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

1.07

Max: 1.52
Q3: 1.35
Median: 1.17
COST: 1.07
Q1: 0.97
Min: 0.60

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

0.77

Max: 1.52
Q3: 1.35
Median: 1.17
Q1: 0.97
WMT: 0.77
Min: 0.60

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Costco Wholesale (COST) at 0.60 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Walmart (WMT) at 0.75 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

0.60

Max: 3.40
Q3: 1.88
Median: 1.35
Q1: 0.68
COST: 0.60
Min: 0.00

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

0.75

Max: 3.40
Q3: 1.88
Median: 1.35
WMT: 0.75
Q1: 0.68
Min: 0.00

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Metric	COST	WMT
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.07	0.77
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.60	0.75
Net Debt / EBITDA	-0.07	1.45

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Costco Wholesale (COST) at 0.56% and Walmart (WMT) at 0.85% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

0.56%

Max: 3.49%
Q3: 1.67%
COST: 0.56%
Median: 0.14%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

0.85%

Max: 3.49%
Q3: 1.67%
WMT: 0.85%
Median: 0.14%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Costco Wholesale (COST) at 27.01% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Walmart (WMT) at 33.54% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

27.01%

Max: 60.00%
Q3: 28.78%
COST: 27.01%
Median: 11.96%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

33.54%

Max: 60.00%
WMT: 33.54%
Q3: 28.78%
Median: 11.96%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Metric	COST	WMT
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.56%	0.85%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	27.01%	33.54%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Costco Wholesale (COST) at 47.78 and Walmart (WMT) at 38.96 sit in the richer earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, so investors are paying more for TTM earnings than they pay for typical peers.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

47.78

Max: 54.16
COST: 47.78
Q3: 36.87
Median: 20.12
Q1: 16.64
Min: 11.64

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

38.96

Max: 54.16
WMT: 38.96
Q3: 36.87
Median: 20.12
Q1: 16.64
Min: 11.64

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Costco Wholesale (COST) at 1.44 and Walmart (WMT) at 1.21 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

1.44

Max: 1.70
COST: 1.44
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.50
Q1: 0.25
Min: 0.02

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

1.21

Max: 1.70
WMT: 1.21
Q3: 0.91
Median: 0.50
Q1: 0.25
Min: 0.02

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Walmart (WMT) at 9.34 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Costco Wholesale (COST) at 25.49 prices even higher, above its industry range.

COST

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

25.49

COST: 25.49
Max: 9.34
Q3: 6.53
Median: 4.39
Q1: 2.16
Min: 0.70

WMT

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group

9.34

WMT: 9.34
Max: 9.34
Q3: 6.53
Median: 4.39
Q1: 2.16
Min: 0.70

Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. Walmart (WMT): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Costco Wholesale (COST) and Walmart (WMT)
Metric	COST	WMT
P/E Ratio (TTM)	47.78	38.96
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.44	1.21
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	25.49	9.34
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.65%	0.78%