COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW vs PriceSmart, Inc., two Discount Stores stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where COST and PSMT diverge most: on p/b, COST reads 12.15 and PSMT reads 4.28; on return on equity, COST reads 26.4% and PSMT reads 11.5%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's COST price has a different growth bar priced in than PSMT (+30.5% implied for COST vs +18.6% for PSMT); 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). What PSMT'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 | PSMT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $916.05 | $196.71 |
| Market cap | $407.1B | $6.0B |
| Sector | Discount Stores | Discount Stores |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +30.5% | +18.6% |
| P/E | 46.1 | 37.8 |
| P/B | 12.15 | 4.28 |
| P/S | 1.39 | 1.05 |
| EV/EBITDA | 28.6 | 17.0 |
| Revenue growth | +9.3% | +10.2% |
| Operating margin | 4.0% | 4.4% |
| Net margin | 3.0% | 2.8% |
| Return on equity | 26.4% | 11.5% |
| Return on assets | 10.2% | 6.4% |
| Return on invested capital | 22.6% | 12.4% |
| FCF yield | 2.2% | 1.2% |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.17 | 0.18 |
| Current ratio | 1.07 | 1.28 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 8.59 | 6.23 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
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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.