COST vs DLTR
Costco Wholesale Corp. and Dollar Tree, Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | COST | DLTR |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $275.2B | $19.4B |
| Net income | $8.1B | $1.3B |
| Gross margin | 12.8% | 36.3% |
| Net margin | 2.9% | 6.6% |
| Return on equity | 30.7% | 33.2% |
| Diluted EPS | $18.21 | $6.22 |
| Dividend / share | $4.92 | · |
| Payout ratio | 27.0% | · |
| Free cash flow | $7.8B | $1.1B |
| Equity | $29.2B | $3.8B |
| Net debt / equity | −0.29× | 0.46× |
| Current ratio | 1.03× | 1.07× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 10.5% | −5.3% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 15.1% | −0.9% |
COST bills 14.2× the revenue of DLTR, and DLTR keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (6.6% against 2.9%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | COST | DLTR |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $275.2B | $19.4B |
| FY2024 | $254.5B | $17.6B |
| FY2023 | $242.3B | $16.8B |
| FY2022 | $227.0B | $15.4B |
| FY2021 | $195.9B | $26.3B |
| FY2020 | $166.8B | $25.5B |
| FY2019 | $152.7B | $23.6B |
| FY2018 | $141.6B | $22.8B |
| FY2017 | $129.0B | $22.2B |
| FY2016 | $118.7B | $20.7B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | COST | DLTR |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $8.1B | $1.3B |
| FY2024 | $7.4B | $-3.0B |
| FY2023 | $6.3B | $-998.4M |
| FY2022 | $5.8B | $1.6B |
| FY2021 | $5.0B | $1.3B |
| FY2020 | $4.0B | $1.3B |
| FY2019 | $3.7B | $827.0M |
| FY2018 | $3.1B | $-1.6B |
| FY2017 | $2.7B | $1.7B |
| FY2016 | $2.4B | $896.2M |
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$255,823,200,000 | COST |
| FY2024 | +$236,874,500,000 | COST |
| FY2023 | +$225,508,900,000 | COST |
| FY2022 | +$211,542,500,000 | COST |
| FY2021 | +$169,607,800,000 | COST |
| FY2020 | +$141,251,700,000 | COST |
| FY2019 | +$129,092,200,000 | COST |
| FY2018 | +$118,752,700,000 | COST |
| FY2017 | +$106,779,500,000 | COST |
| FY2016 | +$97,999,800,000 | COST |
| FY2015 | +$100,700,600,000 | COST |
| FY2014 | +$104,037,800,000 | COST |
| FY2013 | +$97,315,700,000 | COST |
| FY2012 | +$91,742,500,000 | COST |
| FY2011 | +$82,284,500,000 | COST |
| FY2010 | +$72,063,600,000 | COST |
| FY2009 | +$66,190,800,000 | COST |
| FY2008 | +$67,838,100,000 | COST |
COST has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 18 fiscal years. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −3.7 pp | DLTR |
| FY2024 | +20.1 pp | COST |
| FY2023 | +8.5 pp | COST |
| FY2022 | −7.9 pp | DLTR |
| FY2021 | −2.5 pp | DLTR |
| FY2020 | −2.8 pp | DLTR |
| FY2019 | −1.1 pp | DLTR |
| FY2018 | +9.2 pp | COST |
| FY2017 | −5.6 pp | DLTR |
| FY2016 | −2.3 pp | DLTR |
| FY2015 | +0.3 pp | COST |
| FY2014 | −5.1 pp | DLTR |
| FY2013 | −5.7 pp | DLTR |
| FY2012 | −6.6 pp | DLTR |
| FY2011 | −5.6 pp | DLTR |
| FY2010 | −5.1 pp | DLTR |
| FY2009 | −4.6 pp | DLTR |
| FY2008 | −3.2 pp | DLTR |
The higher net margin has changed hands between COST and DLTR over this period.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
DLTR's net margin has been more volatile than COST's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 6.7 percentage points of standard deviation against 0.4.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between COST and DLTR over these 18 fiscal years — COST led in 4 and DLTR in 14.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
DLTR's return on equity has been more volatile than COST's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 23.9 percentage points of standard deviation against 6.6.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between COST and DLTR over these 18 fiscal years — COST led in 9 and DLTR in 9.
18 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.