Costco Wholesale 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 is the larger company by revenue ($303.2B vs $104.8B) and market value ($433.4B vs $71.2B). Costco Wholesale has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+33.6% cumulative vs -1.2%). Target runs the higher operating margin (4.9% vs 3.9%). Target trades at the lower trailing P/E (15.8x vs 46.0x).
About Costco Wholesale
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 FY2026 vs TGT FY2025)
| Metric | COSTFY2026 | TGTFY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $303.15B | $104.78B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 10.1% | -1.7% |
| Gross margin | 12.8% | 27.9% |
| Operating margin | 3.9% | 4.9% |
| Net margin | 3.0% | 3.5% |
| Net income | $9.23B | $3.71B |
| Diluted EPS | $20.76 | $8.13 |
| FCF margin | 3.1% | 2.7% |
| ROE | 25.8% | 22.9% |
| Long-term debt / equity | 0.11× | 0.89× |
| Market cap | $433.38B | $71.16B |
| P/E | 46.0× | 15.8× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (COST FY2026, TGT FY2025). ROE is net income over fiscal-year-end equity; long-term debt / equity counts non-current term debt only. P/E and market cap are derived from stored market prices, last retrieved on a rolling basis and typically within the past week.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| COST by fiscal year | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $226.95B | $242.29B | $254.45B | $275.24B | $303.15B |
| Net income | $5.84B | $6.29B | $7.37B | $8.10B | $9.23B |
| Operating margin | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| TGT by fiscal year | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $106.00B | $109.12B | $107.41B | $106.57B | $104.78B |
| Net income | $6.95B | $2.78B | $4.14B | $4.09B | $3.71B |
| Operating margin | 8.4% | 3.5% | 5.3% | 5.2% | 4.9% |
Costco Wholesale and Target use different fiscal calendars (COST's FY2026 ended 2026-08-30, TGT's FY2025 ended 2026-01-31), so their fiscal years are shown separately rather than forced into one timeline.
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 131 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%12th percentile of 113 | 27.9%39th percentile of 113 |
| Operating margin | 3.9%46th percentile of 117 | 4.9%54th percentile of 117 |
| Net margin | 3.0%52nd percentile of 121 | 3.5%57th percentile of 121 |
| FCF margin | 3.1%47th percentile of 114 | 2.7%45th percentile of 114 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +10.1%71st percentile of 127 | -1.7%29th percentile of 127 |
| ROE | 25.8%88th percentile of 114 | 22.9%87th percentile of 114 |
| P/E | 46.0×87th percentile of 77 | 15.8×30th percentile of 77 |
| Long-term debt / equity | 0.11×19th percentile of 82 | 0.89×72nd percentile of 82 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 2.74d35th percentile of 129 | 4.87d67th percentile of 129 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | COST | TGT |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 7.3M | 17.3M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -0.5% | +2.8% |
| Days to cover | 2.74 | 4.87 |
| As of settlement | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-30 |
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 activity (codes P/S) | COST | TGT |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 0 |
| Sells | 3 ($3.8M) | 3 ($11.0M) |
Non-derivative purchases (code P) and sales (code S) reported on SEC Form 4, which may be open-market or private (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 15% of covered companies saw any reported insider purchase (code P) in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
7 tracked 13F managers hold both Costco Wholesale and Target as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Bridgewater Associates, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Gotham Asset Management, Millennium Management, Two Sigma Investments. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. 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.