Costco Wholesale Corp /new vs Target (COST vs TGT)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Costco Wholesale Corp /new is the larger company by revenue ($275.2B vs $104.8B) and market value ($406.3B vs $61.2B). Costco Wholesale Corp /new has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+40.5% cumulative vs -1.2%). Target runs the higher operating margin (4.9% vs 3.8%). Target trades at the lower trailing P/E (17.8x vs 46.1x).
About Costco Wholesale Corp /new
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouses and e-commerce sites in multiple countries, offering a limited selection of nationally-branded and private-label products at low prices. Its product categories include foods, non-foods, fresh foods, and ancillary services such as gasoline, pharmacy, and optical. Costco serves individual and business members who pay annual fees for access to its warehouses and online shopping platforms.
About Target
Target Corporation operates retail stores and digital channels offering a wide range of general merchandise and groceries. It serves customers across the United States, providing products through physical stores and online platforms, including owned brands and national brands. The company also generates revenue from advertising services, credit card profit-sharing, and third-party marketplace sales.
Head to head (COST FY2025 vs TGT FY2025)
| Metric | COSTFY2025 | TGTFY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $275.24B | $104.78B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 8.2% | -1.7% |
| Gross margin | 12.8% | 27.9% |
| Operating margin | 3.8% | 4.9% |
| Net margin | 2.9% | 3.5% |
| Net income | $8.10B | $3.71B |
| Diluted EPS | $18.21 | $8.13 |
| FCF margin | 2.8% | 2.7% |
| ROE | 27.8% | 22.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.2× | 0.9× |
| Market cap | $406.34B | $61.21B |
| P/E (TTM) | 46.1× | 17.8× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (COST FY2025, TGT FY2025). P/E and market cap are derived from recent market prices and update daily.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| Revenue | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COST | $195.93B | $226.95B | $242.29B | $254.45B | $275.24B |
| TGT | $106.00B | $109.12B | $107.41B | $106.57B | $104.78B |
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 113 Consumer Staples companies, on the same scale. Each figure is ranked only against peers that report it. Percentiles describe position in the distribution, not a rating.
| Metric | COST | TGT |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 12.8%11th percentile of 97 | 27.9%42nd percentile of 97 |
| Operating margin | 3.8%45th percentile of 100 | 4.9%54th percentile of 100 |
| Net margin | 2.9%48th percentile of 105 | 3.5%54th percentile of 105 |
| FCF margin | 2.8%46th percentile of 99 | 2.7%45th percentile of 99 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +8.2%72nd percentile of 110 | -1.7%34th percentile of 110 |
| ROE | 27.8%87th percentile of 98 | 22.9%85th percentile of 98 |
| P/E (TTM) | 46.1×89th percentile of 74 | 17.8×42nd percentile of 74 |
| Debt / equity | 0.20×24th percentile of 72 | 0.89×66th percentile of 72 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 2.44d36th percentile of 112 | 3.63d59th percentile of 112 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | COST | TGT |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 7.3M | 18.7M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -7.1% | -5.2% |
| Days to cover | 2.44 | 3.63 |
| As of settlement | 2026-06-30 | 2026-06-30 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 open-market activity | COST | TGT |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 0 |
| Sells | 1 ($847,345) | 4 ($8.7M) |
Open-market purchases and sales reported on SEC Form 4 (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 16% of covered companies saw any open-market insider buy in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
8 tracked 13F managers hold both Costco Wholesale Corp /new and Target as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Bridgewater Associates, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Gotham Asset Management, Millennium Management, Point72 Asset Management, Renaissance Technologies. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR (public domain). Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.