COST vs M
Costco Wholesale Corp. and Macy's, Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | COST | M |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $275.2B | $22.6B |
| Net income | $8.1B | $642.0M |
| Gross margin | 12.8% | 40.3% |
| Net margin | 2.9% | 2.8% |
| Return on equity | 30.7% | 13.6% |
| Diluted EPS | $18.21 | $2.32 |
| Dividend / share | $4.92 | $0.73 |
| Payout ratio | 27.0% | 30.7% |
| Free cash flow | $7.8B | $1.1B |
| Equity | $29.2B | $4.9B |
| Net debt / equity | −0.29× | 0.24× |
| Current ratio | 1.03× | 1.49× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 10.5% | 5.5% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 15.1% | · |
COST bills 12.2× the revenue of M, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (2.9% against 2.8%).
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 | M |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $275.2B | $22.6B |
| FY2024 | $254.5B | $23.0B |
| FY2023 | $242.3B | $23.9B |
| FY2022 | $227.0B | $25.4B |
| FY2021 | $195.9B | $25.4B |
| FY2020 | $166.8B | $17.3B |
| FY2019 | $152.7B | $24.6B |
| FY2018 | $141.6B | $25.0B |
| FY2017 | $129.0B | $24.9B |
| FY2016 | $118.7B | $25.9B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | COST | M |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $8.1B | $642.0M |
| FY2024 | $7.4B | $582.0M |
| FY2023 | $6.3B | $45.0M |
| FY2022 | $5.8B | $1.1B |
| FY2021 | $5.0B | $1.4B |
| FY2020 | $4.0B | $-3.9B |
| FY2019 | $3.7B | $564.0M |
| FY2018 | $3.1B | $1.1B |
| FY2017 | $2.7B | $1.6B |
| FY2016 | $2.4B | $627.0M |
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$252,614,000,000 | COST |
| FY2024 | +$231,447,000,000 | COST |
| FY2023 | +$218,424,000,000 | COST |
| FY2022 | +$201,505,000,000 | COST |
| FY2021 | +$170,530,000,000 | COST |
| FY2020 | +$149,415,000,000 | COST |
| FY2019 | +$128,143,000,000 | COST |
| FY2018 | +$116,605,000,000 | COST |
| FY2017 | +$104,086,000,000 | COST |
| FY2016 | +$92,811,000,000 | COST |
| FY2015 | +$89,120,000,000 | COST |
| FY2014 | +$84,535,000,000 | COST |
| FY2013 | +$77,225,000,000 | COST |
| FY2012 | +$71,451,000,000 | COST |
| FY2011 | +$62,510,000,000 | COST |
| FY2010 | +$52,943,000,000 | COST |
| FY2009 | +$47,933,000,000 | COST |
| FY2008 | +$47,591,000,000 | 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 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +0.1 pp | COST |
| FY2024 | +0.4 pp | COST |
| FY2023 | +2.4 pp | COST |
| FY2022 | −1.9 pp | M |
| FY2021 | −3.0 pp | M |
| FY2020 | +25.2 pp | COST |
| FY2019 | +0.1 pp | COST |
| FY2018 | −2.2 pp | M |
| FY2017 | −4.1 pp | M |
| FY2016 | −0.4 pp | M |
| FY2015 | −1.9 pp | M |
| FY2014 | −3.6 pp | M |
| FY2013 | −3.4 pp | M |
| FY2012 | −3.0 pp | M |
| FY2011 | −3.0 pp | M |
| FY2010 | −1.7 pp | M |
| FY2009 | +0.1 pp | COST |
| FY2008 | +21.0 pp | COST |
The higher net margin has changed hands between COST and M over this period.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
M's net margin has been more volatile than COST's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 7.9 percentage points of standard deviation against 0.4.
18 of 19 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 M over these 18 fiscal years — COST led in 7 and M in 11.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
M's return on equity has been more volatile than COST's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 32.2 percentage points of standard deviation against 6.6.
18 of 19 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 M over these 18 fiscal years — COST led in 10 and M in 8.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.