ARKO vs COST Stock Comparison

Arko and Costco Wholesale Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ARKO ARKO Corp.
$3.84 -10.3% 1M -14.3% 1Y
Market cap
$431.36M
P/E
47.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.93B
Div. yield
0.03%
Convenience Stores Consumer Staples
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
9 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Costco Wholesale leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Costco Wholesale 9, Arko 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARKOCOSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $431.36M $440.52B COST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 47.7x 47.7x ARKO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 34.9x 47.4x ARKO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -2.1% +10.1% COST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.1% 3.0% COST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.3% 21.7% COST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x -1.1x COST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -14.3% +7.8% COST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.7%/yr +15.5%/yr COST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 56.3% 20.0% COST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 38/100 51/100 COST

Percentile Scorecard

ARKOCOST

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

AxisARKOCOST
Valuation 97 #2 of 40 8 #37 of 40
Growth 11 #34 of 38 78 #9 of 38
Profitability 29 #26 of 36 74 #10 of 36
Financial Health 39 #25 of 40 85 #7 of 40
Shareholder Returns 15 #24 of 28 11 #25 of 28
Overall 38 51
  • ARKO ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • 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

PeriodARKOCOSTSPY
1 month -10.3%+8.9% -0.8%
3 months -52.0%+5.6% +3.5%
6 months -40.8%+0.7% +7.0%
Year to date -15.4%+16.6% +12.2%
1 year -14.3%+7.8% +13.0%
3 years -49.6%+85.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year -20.4%+22.8% +23.1%
5 years -59.8%+105.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -16.7%+15.5% +11.0%
10 years —+565.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+20.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureARKOCOSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 56.3%20.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 64.4%19.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.63-0.19 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.250.39 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.4%-31.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -55.6%-8.1% -1.8%
52-week high $8.64$1,094.32 $779.14
52-week low $3.81$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.

MultipleARKOCOST
P/E now vs peer median 47.6xmedian 22.0x 48.4xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 0.5x 1.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 9.8x 30.0xmedian 9.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 17.8x 47.5xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 3.0x 12.4xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median -1.19median 1.18 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 monthsARKOCOST
Revenue $7.93B $303.15B
Gross profit – $38.88B
Operating income $97.79M $11.69B
Net income $19.16M $9.23B
Free cash flow $36.75M $9.38B
EPS (diluted) $0.08 $20.76
Cash & equivalents $245.56M $20.21B
Total debt $674.51M $6.16B
Shares (diluted) 115.88M 444.43M
Enterprise value -$726.39M $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
MetricARKOCOST
P/E 47.6x 48.4x
P/FCF 11.7x 47.5x
P/Operating cash flow 2.8x 28.2x
P/S 0.1x 1.5x
P/B 0.9x 12.4x
P/Tangible book 1.3x 12.4x
EV/EBITDA 3.7x 30.0x
EV/EBIT 8.7x 36.8x
EV/Revenue 0.1x 1.4x
EV/FCF 23.2x 45.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 5.5x 27.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.19 3.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARKOCOST
Revenue growth (1Y) -2.1% 10.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 7.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 10.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 9.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -3.1% 12.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -12.9% 12.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 29.4% 13.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -27.3% 13.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -0.6% 14.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -40.0% 13.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -32.8% 18.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.4% 12.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -60.2% 19.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -22.7% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARKOCOST
Gross margin – 12.8%
EBITDA margin 2.9% 4.7%
Operating margin 1.2% 3.9%
Pretax margin 0.3% 4.0%
Net margin 0.1% 3.0%
FCF margin 0.5% 3.1%
Operating cash flow margin 2.0% 5.2%
Return on equity 4.1% 26.6%
Return on assets 0.5% 10.5%
Return on invested capital 6.3% 21.7%
Return on capital employed 3.2% 26.7%
Asset turnover 2.2x 3.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 8.1x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARKOCOST
Debt / assets 19.0% 6.9%
Debt / equity 1.4x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x -1.1x
Debt / FCF 18.4x 0.7x
Liabilities / assets 86.8% 59.8%
Equity / assets 13.2% 40.2%
Interest coverage 1.1x 80.6x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 2.54 9.34

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARKOCOST
Dividend yield 3.1% 0.6%
Net buyback yield -45.2% 0.2%
Shareholder yield -42.0% 0.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 70.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 36.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) -3.0% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.6% –

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.

ConsensusARKOCOST
Forward P/E 34.9xFY2026 47.4xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $0.11FY2026 $21.22FY2027
EPS growth, next FY -26.7%FY2026 +2.2%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +18.2% +22.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.25BFY2026 $345.44BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +8.0%FY2026 +14.0%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after -2.0% -4.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARKOCOST
Held by institutions 64.6% 73.2%
Institutions holding 152 4,208
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.5% +5.0%
Institutions buying 87 1,920
Institutions selling 48 1,704
Buyers to sellers 1.81 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.

ARKOCOST
ARKO 1.00 0.18
COST 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARKO and COST?

Costco Wholesale (COST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arko (ARKO) $431.36M, Costco Wholesale (COST) $440.52B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARKO and COST?

Arko (ARKO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Arko (ARKO) 47.7x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 47.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Arko (ARKO) is cheapest (Arko (ARKO) 34.9x, 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?

Costco Wholesale (COST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Arko (ARKO) -2.1%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +10.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Costco Wholesale (COST) has the highest net margin (Arko (ARKO) 0.1%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 3.0%). On return on invested capital, Costco Wholesale (COST) leads (Arko (ARKO) 6.3%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 21.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Costco Wholesale (COST) returned the most: Arko (ARKO) -14.3%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +7.8%. Over five years, Costco Wholesale (COST) compounded fastest (Arko (ARKO) -16.7%/yr, Costco Wholesale (COST) +15.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Arko (ARKO) 0.03%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 0.00%. Costco Wholesale (COST) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Costco Wholesale (COST) has been the steadiest (Arko (ARKO) 56.3%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 20.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ARKO and COST move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.18, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ARKO 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 9. 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.