BJ vs COST vs WMT Stock Comparison

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Costco Wholesale and Walmart Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
COST Costco Wholesale Corp /New
$1,003.32 +10.9% 1M +6.5% 1Y
Market cap
$444.20B
P/E
48.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$303.15B
Div. yield
–
Warehouse Clubs Consumer Staples
4 wins
WMT Walmart Inc.
$119.89 +8.5% 1M +12.2% 1Y
Market cap
$951.93B
P/E
43.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$735.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Discount Stores Consumer Staples
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings 5, Costco Wholesale 4, Walmart 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBJCOSTWMTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.48B $444.20B $951.93B WMT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.7x 48.1x 43.1x BJ
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.2x 47.2x 38.8x BJ
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.1% +10.1% +6.2% COST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.6% 3.0% 3.0% COST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.9% 21.7% 16.1% BJ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x -1.1x 0.8x COST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.2% +6.5% +12.2% BJ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.5%/yr +15.8%/yr +19.4%/yr WMT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.8% 20.0% 26.6% COST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 51/100 47/100 BJ

Percentile Scorecard

BJCOSTWMT

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

AxisBJCOSTWMT
Valuation 39 #25 of 40 8 #37 of 40 10 #36 of 40
Growth 57 #17 of 38 78 #9 of 38 43 #22 of 38
Profitability 69 #12 of 37 72 #11 of 37 75 #10 of 37
Financial Health 54 #19 of 40 85 #7 of 40 64 #15 of 40
Shareholder Returns 74 #8 of 28 11 #25 of 28 44 #16 of 28
Overall 59 51 47
  • BJ ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • COST ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • WMT ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBJCOSTWMTSPY
1 month +17.7%+10.9%+8.5% -1.0%
3 months +13.9%+7.3%+9.5% +2.9%
6 months +12.2%-0.8%-7.7% +6.4%
Year to date +17.6%+16.3%+7.6% +11.4%
1 year +13.2%+6.5%+12.2% +13.1%
3 years +50.2%+81.8%+120.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +14.5%+22.1%+30.1% +21.5%
5 years +72.6%+108.2%+142.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +11.5%+15.8%+19.4% +10.9%
10 years —+573.5%+426.3% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+21.0%+18.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureBJCOSTWMTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.8%20.0%26.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.5%19.6%28.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.44-0.20-0.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.430.330.46 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.1%-31.5%-26.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.7%-8.3%-10.7% -2.5%
52-week high $106.62$1,094.32$134.20 $779.14
52-week low $83.82$850.00$100.61 $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.

MultipleBJCOSTWMT
P/E now vs peer median 22.6xmedian 21.6x 48.3xmedian 21.6x 43.2xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 0.5x 1.5xmedian 0.5x 1.3xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 9.7x 29.9xmedian 9.7x 20.9xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.4xmedian 17.8x 47.4xmedian 17.8x 70.4xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 3.0x 12.4xmedian 3.0x 9.1xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 3.05median 1.06 3.55median 1.06 2.55median 1.06

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 monthsBJCOSTWMT
Revenue $22.81B $303.15B $735.84B
Gross profit $4.16B $38.88B $185.66B
Operating income $856.70M $11.69B $32.28B
Net income $594.50M $9.23B $22.55B
Free cash flow $358.22M $9.38B $13.51B
EPS (diluted) $4.65 $20.76 $2.77
Cash & equivalents $29.98M $20.21B $11.53B
Total debt $629.25M $23.19B $191.72B
Shares (diluted) 127.74M 444.43M 7.98B
Enterprise value $13.33B $367.48B $908.37B

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
MetricBJCOSTWMT
P/E 22.6x 48.3x 43.2x
P/FCF 37.4x 47.4x 70.4x
P/Operating cash flow 12.0x 28.1x 22.2x
P/S 0.6x 1.5x 1.3x
P/B 6.1x 12.4x 9.1x
P/Tangible book 6.4x 12.4x 9.1x
EV/EBITDA 12.1x 29.9x 20.9x
EV/EBIT 16.3x 36.8x 30.7x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 1.4x 1.3x
EV/FCF 39.0x 45.8x 73.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.6x 27.2x 23.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.05 3.55 2.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBJCOSTWMT
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.1% 10.1% 6.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 7.8% 5.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.7% 10.0% 7.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 9.4% 6.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 3.5% 12.5% 11.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.5% 12.9% 14.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 2.7% 13.9% 2.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 13.6% 16.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 6.5% 14.0% 3.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 13.6% 16.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.9% 18.6% 11.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 21.9% 12.6% 4.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 26.9% 19.7% -1.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.7% 11.6% -11.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBJCOSTWMT
Gross margin 18.2% 12.8% 25.2%
EBITDA margin 5.1% 4.7% 6.4%
Operating margin 3.8% 3.9% 4.4%
Pretax margin 3.6% 4.0% 4.0%
Net margin 2.6% 3.0% 3.0%
FCF margin 1.6% 3.1% 1.8%
Operating cash flow margin 4.9% 5.2% 5.8%
Return on equity 27.5% 26.6% 21.9%
Return on assets 7.5% 10.5% 7.7%
Return on invested capital 21.9% 21.7% 16.1%
Return on capital employed 17.2% 26.7% 18.3%
Asset turnover 2.9x 3.5x 2.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.7x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBJCOSTWMT
Debt / assets 7.9% 6.9% 17.2%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.2x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x -1.1x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 1.8x 0.7x 3.7x
Liabilities / assets 72.5% 59.8% 64.4%
Equity / assets 27.5% 40.2% 35.6%
Interest coverage 18.5x 80.6x 17.4x
Current ratio 0.7x 1.1x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.1x 0.6x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.5x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.74 9.33 6.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBJCOSTWMT
Dividend yield – 0.6% 0.8%
Net buyback yield 4.1% 0.2% 0.7%
Shareholder yield 4.1% 0.7% 1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 34.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 57.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 8.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 8.0%

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.

ConsensusBJCOSTWMT
Forward P/E 23.2xFY2026 47.2xFY2027 38.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.57FY2026 $21.24FY2027 $3.09FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +3.9%FY2026 +2.3%FY2027 +17.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.3% +22.4% +1.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.89BFY2026 $345.31BFY2027 $719.70BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.7%FY2026 +13.9%FY2027 +0.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.2% -4.5% +6.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBJCOSTWMT
Held by institutions 100.0% 73.2% 37.2%
Institutions holding 638 4,208 4,408
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% +5.0% +6.2%
Institutions buying 325 1,920 2,092
Institutions selling 232 1,704 1,838
Buyers to sellers 1.40 1.13 1.14

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.

BJCOSTWMT
BJ 1.00 0.54 0.41
COST 0.54 1.00 0.62
WMT 0.41 0.62 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry
BJ · Warehouse Clubs

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BJ, COST and WMT?

Walmart (WMT) is the largest by market capitalisation: BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) $13.48B, Costco Wholesale (COST) $444.20B, Walmart (WMT) $951.93B.

Which stock is cheaper, BJ, COST and WMT?

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) 22.7x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 48.1x, Walmart (WMT) 43.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) is cheapest (BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) 23.2x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 47.2x, Walmart (WMT) 38.8x). 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: BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) +9.1%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +10.1%, Walmart (WMT) +6.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Costco Wholesale (COST) has the highest net margin (BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) 2.6%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 3.0%, Walmart (WMT) 3.0%). On return on invested capital, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) leads (BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) 21.9%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 21.7%, Walmart (WMT) 16.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) returned the most: BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) +13.2%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +6.5%, Walmart (WMT) +12.2%. Over five years, Walmart (WMT) compounded fastest (BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) +11.5%/yr, Costco Wholesale (COST) +15.8%/yr, Walmart (WMT) +19.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) 0.00%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 0.00%, Walmart (WMT) 0.01%. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) and Costco Wholesale (COST) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Costco Wholesale (COST) has been the steadiest (BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) 30.8%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 20.0%, Walmart (WMT) 26.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BJ, COST and WMT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) leads on 5. 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.