BKNG vs COST vs BABA Stock Comparison

Booking Holdings, Costco Wholesale and Alibaba Group Holding Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BKNG Booking Holdings Inc.
$153.14 -6.6% 1M -25.6% 1Y
Market cap
$115.28B
P/E
16.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.24B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
6 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
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Booking Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Booking Holdings 6, Costco Wholesale 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBKNGCOSTBABALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $115.28B $440.52B $232.68B COST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.0x 47.7x 22.1x BKNG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.0x 47.4x 14.3x BKNG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.9% +10.1% +8.1% BKNG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 25.5% 3.0% 7.0% BKNG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 75.5% 21.7% 2.4% BKNG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.3x -1.1x — COST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -25.6% +7.8% -42.6% COST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.5%/yr +15.5%/yr -9.9%/yr COST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 38.0% 20.0% 40.4% COST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 51/100 46/100 BKNG

Percentile Scorecard

BKNGCOSTBABA

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

AxisBKNGCOSTBABA
Valuation 66 #58 of 167 8 #37 of 40 70 #51 of 167
Growth 38 #96 of 153 78 #9 of 38 17 #127 of 153
Profitability 99 #2 of 153 74 #10 of 36 53 #72 of 153
Financial Health 41 #106 of 179 85 #7 of 40 59 #74 of 179
Shareholder Returns 59 #39 of 94 11 #25 of 28 30 #66 of 94
Overall 61 51 46
  • BKNG ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • COST ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • BABA ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBKNGCOSTBABASPY
1 month -6.6%+8.9%-8.7% -0.8%
3 months -18.0%+5.6%-12.8% +3.5%
6 months -13.7%+0.7%-24.3% +7.0%
Year to date -28.5%+16.6%-31.6% +12.2%
1 year -25.6%+7.8%-42.6% +13.0%
3 years +39.4%+85.1%+21.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.7%+22.8%+6.6% +23.1%
5 years +57.7%+105.5%-40.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +9.5%+15.5%-9.9% +11.0%
10 years +160.6%+565.8%-2.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +10.1%+20.9%-0.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBKNGCOSTBABASPY
Volatility, 1Y 38.0%20.0%40.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.2%19.7%36.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.84-0.191.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.670.39-1.06 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.5%-31.5%-62.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -30.3%-8.1%-44.3% -1.8%
52-week high $219.68$1,094.32$179.97 $779.14
52-week low $153.14$850.00$94.81 $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.

MultipleBKNGCOSTBABA
P/E now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 17.5x 48.4xmedian 22.0x 22.1xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 1.4x 1.5xmedian 0.5x 1.5xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.0xmedian 14.5x 30.0xmedian 9.8x —median 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 12.1x 47.5xmedian 17.8x 7.0xmedian 12.1x
P/B now vs peer median -10.7xmedian 1.7x 12.4xmedian 3.0x 1.4xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -0.28median 0.41 3.55median 1.18 -15.35median 0.41

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 monthsBKNGCOSTBABA
Revenue $28.24B $303.15B $150.46B
Gross profit – $38.88B $57.45B
Operating income $9.28B $11.69B $4.39B
Net income $7.21B $9.23B $10.08B
Free cash flow $9.54B $9.38B $33.19B
R&D – – $10.68B
EPS (diluted) $9.36 $20.76 $4.38
Cash & equivalents $17.21B $20.21B $21.06B
Total debt $20.18B $6.16B $83.76B
Shares (diluted) 770.00M 444.43M 2.40B
Enterprise value $48.33B $363.80B $46.32B

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
MetricBKNGCOSTBABA
P/E 16.3x 48.4x 22.1x
P/FCF 12.1x 47.5x 7.0x
P/Operating cash flow 11.7x 28.2x 20.6x
P/S 4.1x 1.5x 1.5x
P/B -10.7x 12.4x 1.4x
P/Tangible book -9.9x 12.4x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA 12.0x 30.0x –
EV/EBIT 12.7x 36.8x 48.0x
EV/Revenue 4.2x 1.4x 1.4x
EV/FCF 12.4x 45.9x 6.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.0x 27.2x 18.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.28 3.55 -15.35

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBKNGCOSTBABA
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.9% 10.1% 8.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.4% 7.8% 5.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 10.0% 0.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 9.4% 6.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.9% 12.5% -77.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 15.3% 12.9% -35.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 49.8% 13.9% -50.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.4% 13.6% -3.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -93.7% 14.0% -47.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -57.3% 13.6% -1.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.9% 18.6% -45.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 12.6% -27.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 3.2% 19.7% -8.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.9% 11.6% -0.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBKNGCOSTBABA
Gross margin – 12.8% 38.2%
EBITDA margin 34.9% 4.7% –
Operating margin 32.9% 3.9% 2.9%
Pretax margin 32.9% 4.0% 9.7%
Net margin 25.5% 3.0% 7.0%
FCF margin 33.8% 3.1% 22.1%
Operating cash flow margin 34.9% 5.2% 7.5%
Return on equity – 26.6% 6.2%
Return on assets 25.1% 10.5% 3.6%
Return on invested capital 75.5% 21.7% 2.4%
Return on capital employed 121.7% 26.7% 2.1%
Asset turnover 1.0x 3.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.7x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 2.1% 0.3% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBKNGCOSTBABA
Debt / assets 68.0% 6.9% 7.5%
Debt / equity -1.9x 0.2x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.3x -1.1x –
Debt / FCF 2.1x 0.7x 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 136.3% 59.8% 43.6%
Equity / assets -36.3% 40.2% 56.4%
Interest coverage 8.4x 80.6x 3.2x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.1x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.6x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.5x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 5.80 9.34 2.30

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBKNGCOSTBABA
Dividend yield 1.1% 0.6% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 9.2% 0.2% –
Shareholder yield 10.2% 0.7% 1.0%
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.

ConsensusBKNGCOSTBABA
Forward P/E 14.0xFY2026 47.4xFY2027 14.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.90FY2026 $21.22FY2027 $7.02FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.5%FY2026 +2.2%FY2027 +80.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.7% +22.4% +22.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $27.56BFY2026 $345.44BFY2027 $174.00BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.4%FY2026 +14.0%FY2027 +17.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.4% -4.4% +14.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBKNGCOSTBABA
Held by institutions 92.9% 73.2% 10.1%
Institutions holding 1,915 4,208 1,218
Change in shares held, QoQ -9.6% +5.0% -5.4%
Institutions buying 891 1,920 555
Institutions selling 828 1,704 421
Buyers to sellers 1.08 1.13 1.32

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.

BKNGCOSTBABA
BKNG 1.00 0.08 0.08
COST 0.08 1.00 -0.02
BABA 0.08 -0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BKNG, COST and BABA?

Costco Wholesale (COST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Booking Holdings (BKNG) $115.28B, Costco Wholesale (COST) $440.52B, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) $232.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, BKNG, COST and BABA?

Booking Holdings (BKNG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 16.0x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 47.7x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 22.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Booking Holdings (BKNG) is cheapest (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 14.0x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 47.4x, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 14.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Booking Holdings (BKNG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Booking Holdings (BKNG) +12.9%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +10.1%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) +8.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Booking Holdings (BKNG) has the highest net margin (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 25.5%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 3.0%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 7.0%). On return on invested capital, Booking Holdings (BKNG) leads (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 75.5%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 21.7%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 2.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Costco Wholesale (COST) returned the most: Booking Holdings (BKNG) -25.6%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +7.8%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -42.6%. Over five years, Costco Wholesale (COST) compounded fastest (Booking Holdings (BKNG) +9.5%/yr, Costco Wholesale (COST) +15.5%/yr, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) -9.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Costco Wholesale (COST) has been the steadiest (Booking Holdings (BKNG) 38.0%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 20.0%, Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) 40.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Booking Holdings (BKNG) leads on 6. 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.