Costco Wholesale vs Walmart (COST vs WMT)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Walmart is the larger company by revenue ($706.4B vs $303.2B) and market value ($945.5B vs $438.3B). Costco Wholesale has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+33.6% cumulative vs +24.4%). Walmart trades at the lower trailing P/E (43.0x vs 47.6x).
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 Walmart
Walmart Inc. is a global retailer operating retail stores and eCommerce platforms in 19 countries. It serves approximately 280 million customers weekly through over 10,900 stores and various online websites and mobile applications. The company offers a wide range of products including groceries, general merchandise, health and wellness items, and provides services such as advertising, financial products, and supply chain solutions.
Head to head (COST FY2026 vs WMT FY2026)
| Metric | COSTFY2026 | WMTFY2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $303.15B | $706.41B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 10.1% | 4.7% |
| Gross margin | 12.8% | 24.2% |
| Operating margin | 3.9% | 4.2% |
| Net margin | 3.0% | 3.1% |
| Net income | $9.23B | $21.89B |
| Diluted EPS | $20.76 | $2.73 |
| FCF margin | 3.1% | 2.1% |
| ROE | 25.8% | 20.7% |
| Long-term debt / equity | 0.11× | 0.33× |
| Market cap | $438.30B | $945.50B |
| P/E | 47.6× | 43.0× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (COST FY2026, WMT FY2026). 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)
| Revenue | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COST | $226.95B | $242.29B | $254.45B | $275.24B | $303.15B |
| WMT | $567.76B | $605.88B | $642.64B | $674.54B | $706.41B |
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 | WMT |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 12.8%12th percentile of 113 | 24.2%29th percentile of 113 |
| Operating margin | 3.9%46th percentile of 117 | 4.2%48th percentile of 117 |
| Net margin | 3.0%52nd percentile of 121 | 3.1%53rd percentile of 121 |
| FCF margin | 3.1%47th percentile of 114 | 2.1%40th percentile of 114 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +10.1%71st percentile of 127 | +4.7%59th percentile of 127 |
| ROE | 25.8%88th percentile of 114 | 20.7%83rd percentile of 114 |
| P/E | 47.6×88th percentile of 77 | 43.0×87th percentile of 77 |
| Long-term debt / equity | 0.11×19th percentile of 82 | 0.33×38th percentile of 82 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 2.74d35th percentile of 129 | 3.39d44th percentile of 129 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | COST | WMT |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 7.3M | 80.9M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -0.5% | +0.4% |
| Days to cover | 2.74 | 3.39 |
| 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 | WMT |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 0 |
| Sells | 3 ($3.8M) | 14 ($11.1M) |
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
8 tracked 13F managers hold both Costco Wholesale and Walmart as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Bridgewater Associates, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Gotham Asset Management, Harris Associates (Oakmark), Millennium Management, Two Sigma Investments. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
Go deeper
Track COST and WMT
Get an alert when either company files something material, see which superinvestors own them, and ask their filings a question with cited answers.
Start monitoring freeIncludes one free filing-grounded research answer. Or check your whole portfolio, no account needed.
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.