ABNB vs BABA vs COST Stock Comparison

Airbnb, Alibaba Group Holding and Costco Wholesale Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ABNB Airbnb, Inc.
$171.05 +8.6% 1M +33.6% 1Y
Market cap
$99.96B
P/E
37.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.16B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
4 wins
BABA Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
$100.26 -8.7% 1M -42.6% 1Y
Market cap
$232.68B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$150.46B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
2 wins
COST Costco Wholesale Corp /New
$1,005.16 +8.9% 1M +7.8% 1Y
Market cap
$440.52B
P/E
47.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$303.15B
Div. yield
–
Warehouse Clubs Consumer Staples
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Costco Wholesale leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Costco Wholesale 4, Airbnb 4, Alibaba Group Holding 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionABNBBABACOSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $99.96B $232.68B $440.52B COST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.1x 22.1x 47.7x BABA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 30.7x 14.3x 47.4x BABA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.6% +8.1% +10.1% ABNB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.4% 7.0% 3.0% ABNB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.5% 2.4% 21.7% COST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -1.1x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +33.6% -42.6% +7.8% ABNB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.2%/yr -9.9%/yr +15.5%/yr COST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.9% 40.4% 20.0% COST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 46/100 51/100 ABNB

Percentile Scorecard

ABNBBABACOST

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisABNBBABACOST
Valuation 25 #126 of 167 70 #51 of 167 8 #37 of 40
Growth 44 #86 of 153 17 #127 of 153 78 #9 of 38
Profitability 91 #15 of 153 53 #72 of 153 74 #10 of 36
Financial Health 52 #86 of 179 59 #74 of 179 85 #7 of 40
Shareholder Returns 58 #40 of 94 30 #66 of 94 11 #25 of 28
Overall 54 46 51
  • ABNB ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • BABA ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • COST ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodABNBBABACOSTSPY
1 month +8.6%-8.7%+8.9% -0.8%
3 months +16.5%-12.8%+5.6% +3.5%
6 months +21.3%-24.3%+0.7% +7.0%
Year to date +26.0%-31.6%+16.6% +12.2%
1 year +33.6%-42.6%+7.8% +13.0%
3 years +49.9%+21.1%+85.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +14.5%+6.6%+22.8% +23.1%
5 years +1.2%-40.8%+105.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year +0.2%-9.9%+15.5% +11.0%
10 years —-2.5%+565.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year —-0.2%+20.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureABNBBABACOSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.9%40.4%20.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.8%36.0%19.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.101.11-0.19 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.94-1.060.39 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -60.2%-62.9%-31.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.2%-44.3%-8.1% -1.8%
52-week high $190.50$179.97$1,094.32 $779.14
52-week low $111.54$94.81$850.00 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleABNBBABACOST
P/E now vs peer median 37.6xmedian 17.5x 22.1xmedian 17.5x 48.4xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 1.4x 1.5xmedian 1.4x 1.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.5x —median 14.5x 30.0xmedian 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 20.8xmedian 12.1x 7.0xmedian 12.1x 47.5xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 12.9xmedian 1.7x 1.4xmedian 1.7x 12.4xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 4.08median 0.41 -15.35median 0.41 3.55median 1.18

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsABNBBABACOST
Revenue $13.16B $150.46B $303.15B
Gross profit $10.91B $57.45B $38.88B
Operating income $2.74B $4.39B $11.69B
Net income $2.69B $10.08B $9.23B
Free cash flow $4.86B $33.19B $9.38B
R&D $2.49B $10.68B –
EPS (diluted) $4.51 $4.38 $20.76
Cash & equivalents $6.82B $21.06B $20.21B
Total debt $2.48B $83.76B $6.16B
Shares (diluted) 597.00M 2.40B 444.43M
Enterprise value $53.19B $46.32B $363.80B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricABNBBABACOST
P/E 37.6x 22.1x 48.4x
P/FCF 20.8x 7.0x 47.5x
P/Operating cash flow 20.8x 20.6x 28.2x
P/S 7.7x 1.5x 1.5x
P/B 12.9x 1.4x 12.4x
P/Tangible book 12.9x 1.5x 12.4x
EV/EBITDA – – 30.0x
EV/EBIT 33.4x 48.0x 36.8x
EV/Revenue 6.9x 1.4x 1.4x
EV/FCF 18.8x 6.3x 45.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.8x 18.6x 27.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.08 -15.35 3.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricABNBBABACOST
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.6% 8.1% 10.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 5.6% 7.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.2% 0.2% 10.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.4% 6.5% 9.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 5.1% -77.5% 12.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.9% -35.9% 12.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 2.5% -50.0% 13.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.4% -3.6% 13.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.5% -47.9% 14.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 9.2% -1.4% 13.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 12.8% -45.8% 18.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% -27.8% 12.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 12.8% -8.5% 19.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.7% -0.6% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricABNBBABACOST
Gross margin 82.9% 38.2% 12.8%
EBITDA margin – – 4.7%
Operating margin 20.8% 2.9% 3.9%
Pretax margin 25.6% 9.7% 4.0%
Net margin 20.4% 7.0% 3.0%
FCF margin 36.9% 22.1% 3.1%
Operating cash flow margin 36.9% 7.5% 5.2%
Return on equity 34.9% 6.2% 26.6%
Return on assets 9.7% 3.6% 10.5%
Return on invested capital 21.5% 2.4% 21.7%
Return on capital employed 28.2% 2.1% 26.7%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 3.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.1x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 13.0% 1.1% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricABNBBABACOST
Debt / assets 8.6% 7.5% 6.9%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.1x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -1.1x
Debt / FCF 0.5x 0.6x 0.7x
Liabilities / assets 72.9% 43.6% 59.8%
Equity / assets 27.1% 56.4% 40.2%
Interest coverage – 3.2x 80.6x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.4x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.6x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 3.65 2.30 9.34

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricABNBBABACOST
Dividend yield – 1.0% 0.6%
Net buyback yield 3.9% – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 3.9% 1.0% 0.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusABNBBABACOST
Forward P/E 30.7xFY2026 14.3xFY2026 47.4xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $5.57FY2026 $7.02FY2026 $21.22FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +38.2%FY2026 +80.9%FY2026 +2.2%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +4.7% +22.8% +22.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.79BFY2026 $174.00BFY2026 $345.44BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +12.6%FY2026 +17.3%FY2026 +14.0%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +20.9% +14.7% -4.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersABNBBABACOST
Held by institutions 60.2% 10.1% 73.2%
Institutions holding 1,307 1,218 4,208
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.9% -5.4% +5.0%
Institutions buying 646 555 1,920
Institutions selling 493 421 1,704
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.32 1.13

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ABNBBABACOST
ABNB 1.00 0.13 0.05
BABA 0.13 1.00 -0.02
COST 0.05 -0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ABNB, BABA and COST?

Costco Wholesale (COST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Airbnb (ABNB) $99.96B, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) $232.68B, Costco Wholesale (COST) $440.52B.

Which stock is cheaper, ABNB, BABA and COST?

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Airbnb (ABNB) 37.1x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 22.1x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 47.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) is cheapest (Airbnb (ABNB) 30.7x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 14.3x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 47.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Airbnb (ABNB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Airbnb (ABNB) +13.6%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) +8.1%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +10.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Airbnb (ABNB) has the highest net margin (Airbnb (ABNB) 20.4%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 7.0%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 3.0%). On return on invested capital, Costco Wholesale (COST) leads (Airbnb (ABNB) 21.5%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 2.4%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 21.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Airbnb (ABNB) returned the most: Airbnb (ABNB) +33.6%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -42.6%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +7.8%. Over five years, Costco Wholesale (COST) compounded fastest (Airbnb (ABNB) +0.2%/yr, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -9.9%/yr, Costco Wholesale (COST) +15.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Costco Wholesale (COST) has been the steadiest (Airbnb (ABNB) 35.9%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 40.4%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 20.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ABNB, BABA and COST?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Costco Wholesale (COST) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.