Which is better, COST or WMT?

On the Buffett-Fit framework, Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) currently grades higher than WMT — 54/100 (C grade) vs 44/100 (D). That said, "better" depends on which framework you trust — COST wins on Warren Buffett, Philip Fisher, Joel Greenblatt, Charlie Munger, and Terry Smith; WMT wins on Benjamin Graham and Peter Lynch. The full pillar breakdown is on this page.

Should I buy COST or WMT?

This page is an educational comparison, not investment advice. Both COST and WMT are graded against the same Buffett 5-pillar framework (moat, earnings durability, management quality, financial health, valuation) plus six other documented investor frameworks. Read the side-by-side breakdown to see which one matches the criteria you care about most — and always do your own research before making any investment decision.

Is COST better than WMT for value investing?

On the Buffett-style value-investing framework, COST currently grades higher — 54/100 vs 44/100, a 10-point gap. The gap is driven by which pillars each stock passes; the table on this page shows moat, durability, management, financial health, and valuation side-by-side.

What's the difference between COST and WMT on Warren Buffett's framework?

Both stocks are evaluated on the same five pillars: economic moat (durable competitive advantage), earnings durability (consistent profitability), management quality (capital allocation), financial health (conservative balance sheet), and valuation (margin of safety). COST currently scores 54/100 (C grade); WMT scores 44/100 (D grade). The "Where each wins" section on this page breaks down which pillar each stock dominates.

Which has the stronger moat, COST or WMT?

Moat strength is one of the five pillars in the Buffett-Fit score on this page. COST and WMT are each scored on ROIC sustainability, gross-margin durability, and qualitative signals like brand strength, switching costs, network effects, and regulatory barriers. The pillar breakdown on this page shows the moat sub-score side-by-side so you can see which one has the more durable competitive advantage.

Which is more undervalued, COST or WMT?

Valuation is one of the five Buffett-Fit pillars on this page. Both stocks are scored on owner-earnings yield, price-to-intrinsic-value vs the underlying compounding rate, and the margin of safety relative to a conservative DCF. The valuation sub-score in the table below tells you which one currently trades at a more attractive price relative to its underlying business quality.

Are COST and WMT both Consumer Defensive stocks?

Yes — both Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) and Walmart Inc. (WMT) operate in the Consumer Defensive sector. That makes this a direct sector-peer comparison, which is the apples-to-apples way to use the Buffett-Fit framework: the score weighs each stock against its sector's specific quality and valuation benchmarks (sector-relative bonus), so the cross-stock comparison isn't distorted by inter-sector base-rate differences.

Is this COST vs WMT comparison investment advice?

No. This page is an educational pattern-match against documented public frameworks (Buffett, Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Greenblatt, Munger, Smith), not personalised investment advice. The scores reflect how closely each stock matches each framework's documented criteria — they are not buy/hold/sell recommendations. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser for personalised advice.

Stock comparison

Costco

Walmart

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

COST

Costco

Market cap

$465.37B

Sector

Consumer Staples

WMT

Walmart

Market cap

$1.05T

Sector

Consumer Staples

Overall winner

Costco COST

Wins on the combined sum of fit scores across all four strategies. Per-strategy breakdown below.

Fit scores by strategy

Strategy	COST	WMT	Winner
Warren Buffett	54C	44D	COST
Benjamin Graham	70B	71B	WMT
Philip Fisher	48D	41D	COST
Peter Lynch	57C	58C	WMT
Joel Greenblatt	55C	49D	COST
Charlie Munger	44D	34F	COST
Terry Smith	46D	26F	COST

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	COST	WMT
Market cap	$465.37B	$1.05T
P/E (TTM)	54.5x	47.9x
EV/EBIT	43.9x	37.0x
ROIC (TTM)	19.11%	11.87%
Gross margin	12.93%	24.93%
Net margin	2.99%	3.07%
Revenue CAGR 5y	8.87%	5.63%
EPS CAGR 5y	12.72%	13.87%
Debt / Equity	0.3x	0.7x
Dividend yield	0.51%	0.73%

Where each one wins

The metrics with the biggest gap between the two - sorted so the most decisive edges read first.

COST leads on

Debt / Equity0.3xvs 0.7x+62%
ROIC (TTM)19.11%vs 11.87%+38%
Revenue CAGR 5y8.87%vs 5.63%+36%

WMT leads on

Market cap$1.05Tvs $465.37B+56%
Gross margin24.93%vs 12.93%+48%
Dividend yield0.73%vs 0.51%+30%
EV/EBIT37.0xvs 43.9x+16%

More like COST

COST vs PM COST vs MNST COST vs CL COST vs MO COST vs NESTLEIND.NS COST vs ITC.NS

More like WMT

WMT vs PM WMT vs MNST WMT vs CL WMT vs MO WMT vs NESTLEIND.NS WMT vs ITC.NS

Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for COST Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for WMT

Related on invest-like

Strongest Moat Highest ROIC Warren Buffett strategy Economic Moat

Key terms in this analysis

ROIC Free Cash Flow (FCF)Economic Moat P/E Ratio Margin of Safety Quality Score

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.

Stock comparison

Costco

Walmart

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

COST

Costco

Market cap

$465.37B

Sector

Consumer Staples

WMT

Walmart

Market cap

$1.05T

Sector

Consumer Staples

Overall winner

Costco COST

Wins on the combined sum of fit scores across all four strategies. Per-strategy breakdown below.

Fit scores by strategy

Strategy	COST	WMT	Winner
Warren Buffett	54C	44D	COST
Benjamin Graham	70B	71B	WMT
Philip Fisher	48D	41D	COST
Peter Lynch	57C	58C	WMT
Joel Greenblatt	55C	49D	COST
Charlie Munger	44D	34F	COST
Terry Smith	46D	26F	COST

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	COST	WMT
Market cap	$465.37B	$1.05T
P/E (TTM)	54.5x	47.9x
EV/EBIT	43.9x	37.0x
ROIC (TTM)	19.11%	11.87%
Gross margin	12.93%	24.93%
Net margin	2.99%	3.07%
Revenue CAGR 5y	8.87%	5.63%
EPS CAGR 5y	12.72%	13.87%
Debt / Equity	0.3x	0.7x
Dividend yield	0.51%	0.73%

Where each one wins

The metrics with the biggest gap between the two - sorted so the most decisive edges read first.

COST leads on

Debt / Equity0.3xvs 0.7x+62%
ROIC (TTM)19.11%vs 11.87%+38%
Revenue CAGR 5y8.87%vs 5.63%+36%

WMT leads on

Market cap$1.05Tvs $465.37B+56%
Gross margin24.93%vs 12.93%+48%
Dividend yield0.73%vs 0.51%+30%
EV/EBIT37.0xvs 43.9x+16%

More like COST

COST vs PM COST vs MNST COST vs CL COST vs MO COST vs NESTLEIND.NS COST vs ITC.NS

More like WMT

WMT vs PM WMT vs MNST WMT vs CL WMT vs MO WMT vs NESTLEIND.NS WMT vs ITC.NS

Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for COST Read the full Buffett-Brain analysis for WMT

Related on invest-like

Strongest Moat Highest ROIC Warren Buffett strategy Economic Moat

Key terms in this analysis

ROIC Free Cash Flow (FCF)Economic Moat P/E Ratio Margin of Safety Quality Score

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.