Costco Wholesale Corporation vs Walmart Inc.
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 | COST | WMT |
|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $424.1B | $922.6B |
| P/E Ratio | 49.8x | 40.8x |
| Forward P/E | 42.3x | 35.2x |
| P/B | 25.65x | 9.26x |
| Dividend Yield | 0.61% | 0.86% |
| Beta | 0.91 | 0.65 |
Quantitative Metrics
| Metric | COST | WMT |
|---|---|---|
| DCF Fair Value | $576.10 | $40.45 |
| DCF Upside | -41.3% | -67.5% |
| Piotroski F | 6/9 | 7/9 |
| Altman Z | 10.02 | 6.70 |
| Beneish M | -2.66 | -2.72 |
| FCF Yield | 1.80% | 1.44% |
| Net Debt/EBITDA | -0.6x | 0.5x |
| ROIC | 21.7% | 14.4% |
| WACC | 10.8% | 8.8% |
| ROIC – WACC | 10.9pp | 5.6pp |
| Gross Margin | 12.8% | 24.9% |
| Net Margin | 2.9% | 3.1% |
| Rev Growth YoY | 8.2% | 4.7% |
| Sharpe (1Y) | -0.05 | 1.40 |
| Max Drawdown 3Y | — | — |
| FCF Payout Ratio | 28% | 50% |
COST Price
WMT Price
ETF Exposure
COST found in:
WMT 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.
COST vs WMT: Head-to-Head Analysis
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) and Walmart Inc. (WMT) 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, COST generates a return on invested capital (ROIC) of 21.7% compared to WMT's 14.4%. This suggests COST is more effective at deploying capital to generate shareholder returns.
The 252-day rolling correlation between COST and WMT is 0.573, indicating moderate co-movement, with some diversification value from holding both in a portfolio context.
COST appears in 35 ETFs tracked by SecuritiesDB, while WMT appears in 38 ETFs. Investors holding broad-market ETFs may already have indirect exposure to both stocks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stock is the better investment, COST or WMT?
Our quantitative analysis compares COST and WMT 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 COST and WMT correlated?
The 252-day correlation between COST and WMT 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.