Walmart Inc. vs Costco Wholesale Corporation
COST wins the Tale of the Tape 5–4.
🏆 Tale of the Tape
Green = winner in each category. Higher is better except P/E (lower = cheaper).
Rolling Correlation
Moderately correlated — some diversification benefit from holding both.
Fundamentals
| Metric | WMT | COST |
|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $922.6B | $424.1B |
| P/E Ratio | 40.8x | 49.8x |
| Forward P/E | 35.2x | 42.3x |
| P/B | 9.26x | 25.65x |
| Dividend Yield | 0.86% | 0.61% |
| Beta | 0.65 | 0.91 |
Quantitative Metrics
| Metric | WMT | COST |
|---|---|---|
| DCF Fair Value | $40.45 | $576.10 |
| DCF Upside | -67.5% | -41.3% |
| Piotroski F | 7/9 | 6/9 |
| Altman Z | 6.70 | 10.02 |
| Beneish M | -2.72 | -2.66 |
| FCF Yield | 1.44% | 1.80% |
| Net Debt/EBITDA | 0.5x | -0.6x |
| ROIC | 14.4% | 21.7% |
| WACC | 8.8% | 10.8% |
| ROIC – WACC | 5.6pp | 10.9pp |
| Gross Margin | 24.9% | 12.8% |
| Net Margin | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| Rev Growth YoY | 4.7% | 8.2% |
| Sharpe (1Y) | 1.40 | -0.05 |
| Max Drawdown 3Y | — | — |
| FCF Payout Ratio | 50% | 28% |
WMT Price
COST Price
ETF Exposure
WMT found in:
COST found in:
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Quant metrics computed from financial statements and 1,200+ trading days. Correlation is Pearson coefficient on daily log returns. Not investment advice.
WMT vs COST: Head-to-Head Analysis
Walmart Inc. (WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) represent two companies in the Consumer Defensive sector. In our quantitative Tale of the Tape scoring, COST leads 5–4 across nine fundamental and risk metrics including profitability, valuation, capital efficiency, and financial health.
In terms of capital efficiency, WMT generates a return on invested capital (ROIC) of 14.4% compared to COST's 21.7%. This suggests COST is more effective at deploying capital to generate shareholder returns.
The 252-day rolling correlation between WMT and COST is 0.573, indicating moderate co-movement, with some diversification value from holding both in a portfolio context.
WMT appears in 38 ETFs tracked by SecuritiesDB, while COST appears in 35 ETFs. Investors holding broad-market ETFs may already have indirect exposure to both stocks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stock is the better investment, WMT or COST?
Our quantitative analysis compares WMT and COST across nine fundamental dimensions. COST wins the Tale of the Tape 5–4. However, stock selection depends on your individual risk tolerance, time horizon, and portfolio context. These metrics are computed from SEC filings and market data — they are not investment recommendations.
Are WMT and COST correlated?
The 252-day correlation between WMT and COST is 0.573. They show moderate correlation — partially diversifying.
How is the Tale of the Tape scored?
The Tale of the Tape compares both stocks across nine categories: profitability (net margin), valuation (P/E), efficiency (ROIC), health (Piotroski F-Score), safety (Altman Z-Score), growth (revenue YoY), risk (Sharpe ratio), leverage (debt-to-equity), and cash generation (FCF yield). The stock that wins more categories takes the overall score. Lower P/E and lower debt-to-equity count as wins.