BURLINGTON STORES, INC. vs COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW, two Discount Stores stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where BURL and COST diverge most: on debt / equity, BURL reads 0.95 and COST reads 0.17; on dividend yield, BURL reads 2.5% and COST reads 0.5%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's BURL price has a different growth bar priced in than COST (+16.2% implied for BURL vs +26.8% for COST); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What COST's price implies is a demanding bet versus history and the cohort (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | BURL | COST |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $239.21 | $904.83 |
| Market cap | $15.3B | $402.1B |
| Sector | Discount Stores | Discount Stores |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +16.2% | +26.8% |
| P/E | 21.5 | 45.5 |
| P/B | 7.63 | 12.00 |
| P/S | 1.25 | 1.37 |
| EV/EBITDA | 36.6 | 29.9 |
| Revenue growth | +10.9% | +9.3% |
| Operating margin | — | 4.0% |
| Net margin | 5.8% | 3.0% |
| Return on equity | 35.7% | 26.4% |
| Return on assets | 7.1% | 10.2% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 22.6% |
| FCF yield | 2.7% | 2.2% |
| Dividend yield | 2.5% | 0.5% |
| Debt / equity | 0.95 | 0.17 |
| Current ratio | 1.17 | 1.07 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.60 | 8.53 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.