COST vs LUV vs BKNG Stock Comparison

Costco Wholesale, Southwest Airlines and Booking Holdings Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
COST Costco Wholesale Corp /New
$1,065.59 +13.9% 1M +14.0% 1Y
Market cap
$470.05B
P/E
50.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$303.15B
Div. yield
–
Warehouse Clubs Consumer Staples
4 wins
LUV Southwest Airlines Co
$44.37 +4.5% 1M +40.3% 1Y
Market cap
$21.90B
P/E
20.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.55B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
2 wins
BKNG Booking Holdings Inc.
$168.72 +7.0% 1M -14.1% 1Y
Market cap
$123.82B
P/E
17.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$28.13B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCOSTLUVBKNGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $470.05B $21.90B $123.82B COST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 50.9x 20.8x 17.3x BKNG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 50.2x 17.1x 15.5x BKNG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.1% +14.5% +8.0% LUV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.0% 3.3% 25.5% BKNG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.7% 8.2% 75.1% BKNG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.1x 0.8x 0.4x COST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +14.0% +40.3% -14.1% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.7%/yr -3.2%/yr +10.0%/yr COST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.4% 43.7% 39.4% COST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 55/100 58/100 BKNG

Percentile Scorecard

COSTLUVBKNG

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

AxisCOSTLUVBKNG
Valuation 8 #37 of 40 43 #78 of 137 63 #62 of 166
Growth 73 #11 of 38 83 #22 of 127 32 #105 of 154
Profitability 72 #11 of 37 41 #74 of 125 99 #2 of 154
Financial Health 85 #7 of 40 32 #101 of 147 42 #104 of 179
Shareholder Returns 11 #25 of 28 74 #24 of 90 54 #45 of 97
Overall 50 55 58
  • COST ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • BKNG ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCOSTLUVBKNGSPY
1 month +13.9%+4.5%+7.0% -5.9%
3 months +12.3%-5.4%-18.6% -4.6%
6 months +5.3%+7.2%-1.5% +0.2%
Year to date +23.6%+7.4%-21.2% +7.5%
1 year +14.0%+40.3%-14.1% +8.2%
3 years +87.0%+88.6%+42.0% +68.3%
3 years, per year +23.2%+23.6%+12.4% +19.0%
5 years +107.7%-15.0%+61.1% +56.5%
5 years, per year +15.7%-3.2%+10.0% +9.4%
10 years +649.1%+9.9%+196.2% +251.5%
10 years, per year +22.3%+0.9%+11.5% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCOSTLUVBKNGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.4%43.7%39.4% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.0%38.6%38.4% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.201.550.84 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.680.92-0.36 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -31.5%-56.7%-39.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.6%-19.0%-23.2% -5.9%
52-week high $1,094.32$54.80$219.68 $779.14
52-week low $850.00$31.16$147.94 $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.

MultipleCOSTLUVBKNG
P/E now vs peer median 51.3xmedian 20.2x 20.6xmedian 14.1x 17.6xmedian 18.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 0.5x 0.7xmedian 0.9x 4.5xmedian 1.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 31.8xmedian 9.6x 8.1xmedian 7.8x 13.2xmedian 15.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 50.3xmedian 15.4x -48.4xmedian 11.7x 13.6xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 13.2xmedian 2.8x 3.0xmedian 1.2x -12.1xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 3.77median 1.03 0.51median 0.68 -0.29median 0.38

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 monthsCOSTLUVBKNG
Revenue $303.15B $31.55B $28.13B
Gross profit $38.88B – –
Operating income $11.69B $1.39B $9.22B
Net income $9.23B $1.05B $7.18B
Free cash flow $9.38B -$449.00M $9.24B
EPS (diluted) $20.76 $2.13 $9.53
Cash & equivalents $20.21B $3.62B $15.81B
Total debt $6.16B $5.89B $20.06B
Shares (diluted) 444.43M 494.00M 753.00M
Enterprise value $393.33B $7.93B $57.57B

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
MetricCOSTLUVBKNG
P/E 51.3x 20.6x 17.6x
P/FCF 50.3x -48.4x 13.6x
P/Operating cash flow 29.9x 7.9x 13.1x
P/S 1.6x 0.7x 4.5x
P/B 13.2x 3.0x -12.1x
P/Tangible book 13.2x 3.0x -11.2x
EV/EBITDA 31.8x 8.1x 13.2x
EV/EBIT 39.1x 17.3x 14.1x
EV/Revenue 1.5x 0.8x 4.6x
EV/FCF 48.7x -53.4x 14.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.9x 8.7x 13.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.77 0.51 -0.29

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCOSTLUVBKNG
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.1% 14.5% 8.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 7.4% 10.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.0% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.4% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.5% 339.7% 8.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.9% 78.6% 11.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.9% 177.8% 42.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 28.4% 10.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 14.0% 195.8% -93.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 40.0% -59.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.6% 36.2% 10.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% -6.0% 5.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.7% -35.2% 11.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% 20.2% 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCOSTLUVBKNG
Gross margin 12.8% – –
EBITDA margin 4.7% 9.4% 34.9%
Operating margin 3.9% 4.4% 32.8%
Pretax margin 4.0% 4.3% 32.9%
Net margin 3.0% 3.3% 25.5%
FCF margin 3.1% -1.4% 32.8%
Operating cash flow margin 5.2% 8.7% 34.0%
Return on equity 26.6% 14.6% –
Return on assets 10.5% 3.5% 24.8%
Return on invested capital 21.7% 8.2% 75.1%
Return on capital employed 26.7% 8.3% 96.0%
Asset turnover 3.5x 1.0x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 2.6x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – 2.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCOSTLUVBKNG
Debt / assets 6.9% 19.3% 71.0%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.8x -1.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.1x 0.8x 0.4x
Debt / FCF 0.7x -13.1x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets 59.8% 76.0% 136.8%
Equity / assets 40.2% 24.0% -36.8%
Interest coverage 80.6x 5.9x 8.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.5x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.4x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.3x 0.8x
Altman Z-score 9.65 2.23 6.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCOSTLUVBKNG
Dividend yield 0.5% 1.6% 0.7%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 5.7% 9.6%
Shareholder yield 0.7% 7.3% 10.3%
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.

ConsensusCOSTLUVBKNG
Forward P/E 50.2xFY2027 17.1xFY2026 15.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $21.22FY2027 $2.59FY2026 $10.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.2%FY2027 +178.5%FY2026 +19.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.4% +59.5% +16.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $345.54BFY2027 $31.39BFY2026 $27.55BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.0%FY2027 +11.9%FY2026 +2.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.4% +17.4% +11.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCOSTLUVBKNG
Held by institutions 73.2% 92.9% 92.9%
Institutions holding 4,217 933 1,920
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +4.4% -9.6%
Institutions buying 1,923 477 893
Institutions selling 1,708 282 831
Buyers to sellers 1.13 1.69 1.07

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.

COSTLUVBKNG
COST 1.00 -0.03 0.12
LUV -0.03 1.00 0.37
BKNG 0.12 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, COST, LUV and BKNG?

Costco Wholesale (COST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Costco Wholesale (COST) $470.05B, Southwest Airlines (LUV) $21.90B, Booking Holdings (BKNG) $123.82B.

Which stock is cheaper, COST, LUV and BKNG?

Booking Holdings (BKNG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Costco Wholesale (COST) 50.9x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 20.8x, Booking Holdings (BKNG) 17.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Booking Holdings (BKNG) is cheapest (Costco Wholesale (COST) 50.2x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 17.1x, Booking Holdings (BKNG) 15.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Southwest Airlines (LUV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Costco Wholesale (COST) +10.1%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%, Booking Holdings (BKNG) +8.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Booking Holdings (BKNG) has the highest net margin (Costco Wholesale (COST) 3.0%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%, Booking Holdings (BKNG) 25.5%). On return on invested capital, Booking Holdings (BKNG) leads (Costco Wholesale (COST) 21.7%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%, Booking Holdings (BKNG) 75.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: Costco Wholesale (COST) +14.0%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +40.3%, Booking Holdings (BKNG) -14.1%. Over five years, Costco Wholesale (COST) compounded fastest (Costco Wholesale (COST) +15.7%/yr, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -3.2%/yr, Booking Holdings (BKNG) +10.0%/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) 20.4%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.7%, Booking Holdings (BKNG) 39.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.