COST vs WMT
Costco Wholesale Corp. and Walmart Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | COST | WMT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $275.2B | $713.2B |
| Net income | $8.1B | $21.9B |
| Gross margin | 12.8% | 24.9% |
| Net margin | 2.9% | 3.1% |
| Return on equity | 30.7% | 23.0% |
| Diluted EPS | $18.21 | $2.73 |
| Dividend / share | $4.92 | $0.94 |
| Payout ratio | 27.0% | 34.3% |
| Free cash flow | $7.8B | $14.9B |
| Equity | $29.2B | $99.6B |
| Net debt / equity | −0.29× | 0.28× |
| Current ratio | 1.03× | 0.79× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 10.5% | 5.0% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 15.1% | 10.1% |
WMT bills 2.6× the revenue of COST, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (3.1% 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 | WMT |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $275.2B | $713.2B |
| FY2024 | $254.5B | $681.0B |
| FY2023 | $242.3B | $648.1B |
| FY2022 | $227.0B | $611.3B |
| FY2021 | $195.9B | $572.8B |
| FY2020 | $166.8B | $559.2B |
| FY2019 | $152.7B | $524.0B |
| FY2018 | $141.6B | $514.4B |
| FY2017 | $129.0B | $500.3B |
| FY2016 | $118.7B | $485.9B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | COST | WMT |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $8.1B | $21.9B |
| FY2024 | $7.4B | $19.4B |
| FY2023 | $6.3B | $15.5B |
| FY2022 | $5.8B | $11.7B |
| FY2021 | $5.0B | $13.7B |
| FY2020 | $4.0B | $13.5B |
| FY2019 | $3.7B | $14.9B |
| FY2018 | $3.1B | $6.7B |
| FY2017 | $2.7B | $9.9B |
| FY2016 | $2.4B | $13.6B |
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$437,928,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2024 | −$426,532,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2023 | −$405,835,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2022 | −$384,335,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2021 | −$376,825,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2020 | −$392,390,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2019 | −$371,261,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2018 | −$372,829,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2017 | −$371,318,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2016 | −$367,154,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2015 | −$365,931,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2014 | −$373,011,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2013 | −$371,138,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2012 | −$369,514,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2011 | −$357,594,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2010 | −$343,903,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2009 | −$336,663,000,000 | WMT |
| FY2008 | −$331,771,000,000 | WMT |
WMT 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 | −0.2 pp | WMT |
| FY2024 | −0.1 pp | WMT |
| FY2023 | +0.1 pp | COST |
| FY2022 | +0.8 pp | COST |
| FY2021 | +0.2 pp | COST |
| FY2020 | −0.0 pp | WMT |
| FY2019 | −0.5 pp | WMT |
| FY2018 | +0.8 pp | COST |
| FY2017 | +0.0 pp | COST |
| FY2016 | −0.9 pp | WMT |
| FY2015 | −1.1 pp | WMT |
| FY2014 | −1.7 pp | WMT |
| FY2013 | −1.5 pp | WMT |
| FY2012 | −2.0 pp | WMT |
| FY2011 | −1.9 pp | WMT |
| FY2010 | −2.3 pp | WMT |
| FY2009 | −2.1 pp | WMT |
| FY2008 | −1.6 pp | WMT |
The higher net margin has changed hands between COST and WMT over this period.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
WMT's net margin has been more volatile than COST's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 0.7 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 WMT over these 18 fiscal years — COST led in 5 and WMT in 13.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
COST's return on equity has been more volatile than WMT's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 6.6 percentage points of standard deviation against 3.8.
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 WMT over these 18 fiscal years — COST led in 11 and WMT in 7.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.