COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW vs Macy's, Inc., two Discount Stores stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where COST and M diverge most: on revenue growth, COST reads +9.3% and M reads -0.2%; on fcf yield, COST reads 2.2% and M reads 23.1%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. What COST's price implies is a demanding bet versus history and the cohort (whole-company basis). What M's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | COST | M |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $916.05 | $22.65 |
| Market cap | $407.1B | $6.2B |
| Sector | Discount Stores | Discount Stores |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +30.5% | — |
| P/E | 46.1 | 9.4 |
| P/B | 12.15 | 1.28 |
| P/S | 1.39 | 0.27 |
| EV/EBITDA | 28.6 | 3.8 |
| Revenue growth | +9.3% | -0.2% |
| Operating margin | 4.0% | 2.3% |
| Net margin | 3.0% | 2.9% |
| Return on equity | 26.4% | 13.8% |
| Return on assets | 10.2% | 4.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 22.6% | 9.8% |
| FCF yield | 2.2% | 23.1% |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | 3.2% |
| Debt / equity | 0.17 | 0.50 |
| Current ratio | 1.07 | 1.48 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 8.59 | 7.58 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 7 / 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.