COST vs CASY vs PSMT Stock Comparison

Costco Wholesale, Caseys General Stores and Pricesmart 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
$446.27B
P/E
48.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$303.15B
Div. yield
–
Warehouse Clubs Consumer Staples
4 wins
CASY Caseys General Stores Inc
$699.26 +17.1% 1M +31.2% 1Y
Market cap
$26.00B
P/E
33.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.67B
Div. yield
–
Convenience Stores Consumer Staples
4 wins
PSMT Pricesmart Inc
$170.95 -1.0% 1M +38.9% 1Y
Market cap
$5.24B
P/E
32.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.69B
Div. yield
–
Warehouse Clubs Consumer Staples
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Costco Wholesale leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Costco Wholesale 4, Caseys General Stores 4, Pricesmart 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCOSTCASYPSMTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $446.27B $26.00B $5.24B COST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 48.4x 33.6x 32.7x PSMT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 47.2x 33.8x 31.7x PSMT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.1% +13.8% +10.2% CASY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.0% 4.1% 2.8% CASY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.7% 18.5% 12.0% COST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.1x 0.9x -0.4x COST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.5% +31.2% +38.9% PSMT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.8%/yr +29.5%/yr +17.9%/yr CASY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.0% 36.9% 28.0% COST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 58/100 50/100 CASY

Percentile Scorecard

COSTCASYPSMT

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

AxisCOSTCASYPSMT
Valuation 8 #37 of 40 21 #32 of 40 23 #31 of 40
Growth 78 #9 of 38 87 #6 of 38 68 #13 of 38
Profitability 72 #11 of 37 83 #7 of 37 58 #16 of 37
Financial Health 85 #7 of 40 69 #13 of 40 80 #9 of 40
Shareholder Returns 11 #25 of 28 30 #20 of 28 22 #22 of 28
Overall 51 58 50
  • COST ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • CASY ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • PSMT ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCOSTCASYPSMTSPY
1 month +10.9%+17.1%-1.0% -1.0%
3 months +7.3%-18.8%-8.2% +2.9%
6 months -0.8%-12.5%+6.1% +6.4%
Year to date +16.3%+26.5%+39.4% +11.4%
1 year +6.5%+31.2%+38.9% +13.1%
3 years +81.8%+162.9%+136.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +22.1%+38.0%+33.3% +21.5%
5 years +108.2%+264.4%+127.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +15.8%+29.5%+17.9% +10.9%
10 years +573.5%+509.9%+98.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +21.0%+19.8%+7.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCOSTCASYPSMTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.0%36.9%28.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.6%35.1%29.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.20-0.130.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.330.851.39 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -31.5%-36.2%-34.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.3%-23.7%-13.6% -2.5%
52-week high $1,094.32$916.28$197.90 $779.14
52-week low $850.00$513.19$114.94 $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.

MultipleCOSTCASYPSMT
P/E now vs peer median 48.3xmedian 21.6x 33.4xmedian 21.6x 32.2xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 0.5x 1.4xmedian 0.5x 0.9xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 29.9xmedian 9.7x 13.8xmedian 9.7x 14.6xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 47.4xmedian 17.8x 39.8xmedian 17.8x 71.5xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 12.4xmedian 3.0x 6.3xmedian 3.0x 3.8xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 3.55median 1.06 1.76median 1.06 2.67median 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 monthsCOSTCASYPSMT
Revenue $303.15B $18.67B $5.69B
Gross profit $38.88B $4.45B $1.00B
Operating income $11.69B $1.55B $256.74M
Net income $9.23B $772.81M $160.49M
Free cash flow $9.38B $648.93M $73.74M
EPS (diluted) $20.76 $20.81 $5.30
Cash & equivalents $20.21B $524.06M $208.44M
Total debt $23.19B $9.79B $183.15M
Shares (diluted) 444.43M 37.14M 30.27M
Enterprise value $369.55B $24.00B $3.98B

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
MetricCOSTCASYPSMT
P/E 48.3x 33.4x 32.2x
P/FCF 47.4x 39.8x 71.5x
P/Operating cash flow 28.1x 18.6x 19.2x
P/S 1.5x 1.4x 0.9x
P/B 12.4x 6.3x 3.8x
P/Tangible book 12.4x 6.3x 3.8x
EV/EBITDA 29.9x 13.8x 14.6x
EV/EBIT 36.8x 17.9x 20.0x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 1.5x 0.9x
EV/FCF 45.8x 42.8x 69.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.2x 20.0x 18.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.55 1.76 2.67

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCOSTCASYPSMT
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.1% 13.8% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 8.8% 9.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.0% 13.8% 12.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.4% 12.6% 10.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.5% 22.5% 12.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.9% 16.8% 10.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.9% 32.9% 10.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 18.6% 11.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 14.0% 33.6% 9.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 19.0% 12.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.6% 17.5% 24.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 18.5% 0.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.7% -2.6% -20.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% 20.4% -21.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCOSTCASYPSMT
Gross margin 12.8% 23.8% 17.6%
EBITDA margin 4.7% 10.8% 6.2%
Operating margin 3.9% 8.3% 4.5%
Pretax margin 4.0% 5.4% 3.9%
Net margin 3.0% 4.1% 2.8%
FCF margin 3.1% 3.5% 1.3%
Operating cash flow margin 5.2% 7.4% 4.8%
Return on equity 26.6% 19.2% 11.8%
Return on assets 10.5% 8.6% 6.5%
Return on invested capital 21.7% 18.5% 12.0%
Return on capital employed 26.7% 20.3% 15.6%
Asset turnover 3.5x 2.1x 2.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.8x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.3% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCOSTCASYPSMT
Debt / assets 6.9% 26.6% 7.3%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.6x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.1x 0.9x -0.4x
Debt / FCF 0.7x 3.7x 2.5x
Liabilities / assets 59.8% 55.1% 44.7%
Equity / assets 40.2% 44.9% 55.3%
Interest coverage 80.6x 16.9x 16.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.0x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.6x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 9.33 6.33 6.12

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCOSTCASYPSMT
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.3% 0.8%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 0.8% 0.2%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 1.2% 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.

ConsensusCOSTCASYPSMT
Forward P/E 47.2xFY2027 33.8xFY2026 31.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $21.24FY2027 $20.68FY2026 $5.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.3%FY2027 +7.9%FY2026 +12.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.4% +16.7% +12.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $345.31BFY2027 $20.14BFY2026 $5.53BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.9%FY2027 +14.7%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.5% -0.8% +24.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCOSTCASYPSMT
Held by institutions 73.2% 88.9% 91.1%
Institutions holding 4,208 1,081 386
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +3.8% +4.4%
Institutions buying 1,920 554 215
Institutions selling 1,704 385 116
Buyers to sellers 1.13 1.44 1.85

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.

COSTCASYPSMT
COST 1.00 0.31 0.25
CASY 0.31 1.00 0.12
PSMT 0.25 0.12 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, COST, CASY and PSMT?

Costco Wholesale (COST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Costco Wholesale (COST) $446.27B, Caseys General Stores (CASY) $26.00B, Pricesmart (PSMT) $5.24B.

Which stock is cheaper, COST, CASY and PSMT?

Pricesmart (PSMT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Costco Wholesale (COST) 48.4x, Caseys General Stores (CASY) 33.6x, Pricesmart (PSMT) 32.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pricesmart (PSMT) is cheapest (Costco Wholesale (COST) 47.2x, Caseys General Stores (CASY) 33.8x, Pricesmart (PSMT) 31.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Caseys General Stores (CASY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Costco Wholesale (COST) +10.1%, Caseys General Stores (CASY) +13.8%, Pricesmart (PSMT) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caseys General Stores (CASY) has the highest net margin (Costco Wholesale (COST) 3.0%, Caseys General Stores (CASY) 4.1%, Pricesmart (PSMT) 2.8%). On return on invested capital, Costco Wholesale (COST) leads (Costco Wholesale (COST) 21.7%, Caseys General Stores (CASY) 18.5%, Pricesmart (PSMT) 12.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Pricesmart (PSMT) returned the most: Costco Wholesale (COST) +6.5%, Caseys General Stores (CASY) +31.2%, Pricesmart (PSMT) +38.9%. Over five years, Caseys General Stores (CASY) compounded fastest (Costco Wholesale (COST) +15.8%/yr, Caseys General Stores (CASY) +29.5%/yr, Pricesmart (PSMT) +17.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Costco Wholesale (COST) has been the steadiest (Costco Wholesale (COST) 20.0%, Caseys General Stores (CASY) 36.9%, Pricesmart (PSMT) 28.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, COST, CASY and PSMT?

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.