Costco vs Walmart
Walmart is the larger business, with $713.16bn of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $303.15bn for Costco (2.4 times as much). Costco grew faster (10.1% against 4.7%). Walmart kept more of each dollar of sales as profit: a net margin of 3.1% against 3.0%.
| Latest fiscal year | CostcoCOST, 2026 | WalmartWMT, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $303.15bn | $713.16bn |
| Revenue growth | 10.1% | 4.7% |
| Net income | $9.23bn | $21.89bn |
| Operating margin | 3.9% | — |
| Net margin | 3.0% | 3.1% |
| Return on equity | 28.4% | 23.0% |
| Free cash flow | $9.38bn | $14.92bn |
| Cash | $20.21bn | $10.73bn |
| Total debt | $6.17bn | $38.17bn |
| Debt to equity | 17.2% | — |
| Dividend per share | $5.54 | $0.94 |
| Dividend yield | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Share buybacks | $848m | $8.09bn |
| Employees | 355,000 | 2,100,000 |
| Market value | $453.25bn | $995.53bn |
| Price vs our value range | Above our value range | Above our value range |
| Moat score | 58 (Moderate) | 54 (Moderate) |
| Insider trades, 12 months | 0 buys, 13 sales | 0 buys, 109 sales |