Macy's, Inc. vs PriceSmart, Inc., two Discount Stores stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Macy's runs department stores across America; PriceSmart runs membership warehouses across Latin America. Their margins are both thin, 2.94% for Macy's and 2.82% for PriceSmart, though for different reasons, one from discounting, the other from the deliberate low markup of a club. Macy's earns more on equity, 13.79% to 11.7%, and trades far cheaper, 10.72 times earnings and 1.46 times book against PriceSmart's 38.68 and 4.45. Macy's free cash yield of 20.14% towers over PriceSmart's 1.43%, and it pays 2.81% to 0.64%. PriceSmart runs lighter debt, 0.15 to 0.50. The cheap, cash-heavy domestic store versus the pricier emerging-market club still growing into its multiple.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | M | PSMT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $22.65 | $196.71 |
| Market cap | $6.2B | $6.0B |
| Sector | Discount Stores | Discount Stores |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +18.6% |
| P/E | 9.4 | 37.8 |
| P/B | 1.28 | 4.28 |
| P/S | 0.27 | 1.05 |
| EV/EBITDA | 3.8 | 17.0 |
| Revenue growth | -0.2% | +10.2% |
| Operating margin | 2.3% | 4.4% |
| Net margin | 2.9% | 2.8% |
| Return on equity | 13.8% | 11.5% |
| Return on assets | 4.1% | 6.4% |
| Return on invested capital | 9.8% | 12.4% |
| FCF yield | 23.1% | 1.2% |
| Dividend yield | 3.2% | 0.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.50 | 0.18 |
| Current ratio | 1.48 | 1.28 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.58 | 6.23 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 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.