How comparing works here
How do I compare two companies?
Type the tickers into the box above — up to five at once. Every row is read from the companies' own annual filings, so a comparison shows the same measure computed the same way for each of them rather than whatever each company chose to highlight.
Can I compare an ETF with a stock?
Yes, and the table changes to suit. Two funds are compared on cost, income, spread and record, because revenue growth and debt mean nothing for a fund. A fund against a company shows only what both of them have.
Side by side
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Put up to 4 companies, funds, commodities or coins next to each other — health, valuation, growth and performance.
Every row is computed the same way for every column, from each company's own annual filing, so a comparison is not a collection of whichever figures each of them chose to put in a press release. Funds are compared on what a fund is actually judged on: cost, income, spread and record.
Relative performance
Rebased so every symbol starts at 0%
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Side by side
Latest annual figures from each company's filings
| Metric | COSTCOSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW | WMTWalmart Inc. | TGTTARGET CORP | DGDOLLAR GENERAL CORP | Median of the restexcluding COST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Company | Company | Company | Company | |
| Price | $1018.21▲ 19.90 (1.99%) | $121.12▲ 3.32 (2.82%) | $158.11▲ 5.73 (3.76%) | $139.11▲ 6.99 (5.29%) | |
| Health scoreComposite of profitability, growth, debt and accounting quality. | 8.0/10 | 8.0/10 | 6.0/10 | 7.3/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Market value | $451.34B | $965.62B | $71.60B | $30.64B | |
| Revenue | $303.15B | $706.41B | $104.78B | $42.72B | |
| Profit | $9.23B | $21.89B | $3.71B | $1.51B | |
| Revenue growthChange in sales versus the prior year. | 10.1% | 4.7% | -1.7% | 5.2% | 4.7% |
| Gross marginShare of sales left after the direct cost of producing them. | 12.8% | 24.2% | 27.9% | 30.7% | 27.9% |
| Operating marginShare of sales left after running the business, before interest and tax. | 3.9% | 4.2% | 4.9% | 5.2% | 4.9% |
| Profit marginProfit kept from each dollar of sales. | 3.0% | 3.1% | 3.5% | 3.5% | 3.5% |
| Free cash flow marginCash left after capital spending, as a share of sales. | 3.1% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 5.6% | 2.7% |
| Return on equityProfit against the owners' stake in the company. | 25.8% | 22.0% | 22.9% | 17.8% | 22.0% |
| Return on invested capital (approx.)Operating profit after tax against equity plus debt, less cash. Cash here excludes short-term investments, so this runs low for cash-rich companies. | 40.4% | 17.4% | 14.6% | 14.2% | 14.6% |
| P/E ratioPrice paid per dollar of annual profit. | 48.92x | 44.11x | 19.32x | 20.26x | 20.26x |
| EV / EBITDA (approx.)Market value plus debt less cash, against operating profit before depreciation. Cash excludes short-term investments, so this runs high for cash-rich companies. | 30.45x | 22.56x | 10.02x | 10.49x | 10.49x |
| Price to book | 12.61x | 9.69x | 4.43x | 3.60x | 4.43x |
| Debt to equityTotal liabilities compared with owners' stake. | 1.49x | 1.86x | 2.68x | 2.64x | 2.64x |
| Piotroski F-ScoreNine checks of financial strength. Higher is stronger. | 7/9 | 7/9 | 5/9 | 8/9 | 7.0 |
| Bankruptcy riskAltman Z-Score zone. | safe | grey | grey | grey |
How COST compares with the others
- COST's operating margin of 3.9% is lower than the median of the other companies selected (4.9%).
- Its revenue grew faster than the median of the other companies selected: 10.1% against 4.7%.
- It trades at a higher P/E than the median of the other companies selected: 48.9x against 20.3x.
- Its liabilities are lower relative to equity than the median of the other companies selected: 1.5x against 2.6x.
Measured against the other companies entered, from each one's latest annual filing. A difference describes the companies; it does not rank them.