COST vs MUSA vs BJ Stock Comparison

Costco Wholesale, Murphy USA and BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
COST Costco Wholesale Corp /New
$982.73 +6.5% 1M +6.3% 1Y
Market cap
$435.61B
P/E
47.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$303.15B
Div. yield
0.56%
Warehouse Clubs Consumer Staples
5 wins
MUSA Murphy USA Inc.
$516.78 -0.6% 1M +30.4% 1Y
Market cap
$9.50B
P/E
14.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$23.26B
Div. yield
0.49%
Convenience Stores Consumer Staples
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionCOSTMUSABJLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $435.61B $9.50B $13.08B COST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 47.3x 14.4x 22.1x MUSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 46.3x 14.5x 22.6x MUSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.1% +20.2% +9.1% MUSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.0% — 2.6% COST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.7% — 21.9% BJ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.1x — 0.5x COST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.56% 0.49% — COST
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.3% +30.4% +11.9% MUSA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.9%/yr +26.0%/yr +12.1%/yr MUSA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 20.0% 39.6% 30.8% COST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 51/100 60/100 BJ

Percentile Scorecard

COSTMUSABJ

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

AxisCOSTMUSABJ
Valuation 8 #37 of 40 54 #19 of 40 46 #22 of 40
Growth 76 #10 of 38 81 #8 of 38 60 #16 of 38
Profitability 74 #10 of 36 94 #3 of 36 71 #11 of 36
Financial Health 85 #7 of 40 13 #35 of 40 49 #21 of 40
Shareholder Returns 19 #23 of 28 11 #25 of 28 74 #8 of 28
Overall 52 51 60
  • COST ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • MUSA ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • BJ ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCOSTMUSABJSPY
1 month +6.5%-0.6%+6.8% +0.9%
3 months +0.9%-16.2%+3.4% +5.9%
6 months -1.6%+0.5%+13.1% +8.5%
Year to date +14.0%+28.1%+14.9% +13.3%
1 year +6.3%+30.4%+11.9% +12.4%
3 years +81.0%+42.0%+49.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +21.9%+12.4%+14.3% +23.5%
5 years +99.9%+217.1%+77.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year +14.9%+26.0%+12.1% +11.0%
10 years +556.2%+646.7%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +20.7%+22.3%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCOSTMUSABJSPY
Volatility, 1Y 20.0%39.6%30.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.8%40.3%29.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.19-0.68-0.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.320.770.39 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -31.5%-35.8%-30.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.2%-17.1%-3.0% -0.9%
52-week high $1,094.32$623.43$106.62 $779.14
52-week low $850.00$356.57$83.82 $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.

MultipleCOSTMUSABJ
P/E now vs peer median 47.3xmedian 21.7x 14.4xmedian 21.7x 22.1xmedian 21.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 0.5x 0.4xmedian 0.5x 0.6xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 29.3xmedian 9.3x —median 9.3x 11.8xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 46.4xmedian 17.1x 17.2xmedian 17.1x 36.5xmedian 17.1x
P/B now vs peer median 12.2xmedian 2.9x 12.0xmedian 2.9x 6.0xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 3.47median 1.02 1.02median 1.02 2.98median 1.02

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 monthsCOSTMUSABJ
Revenue $303.15B $23.26B $22.81B
Gross profit $38.88B – $4.16B
Operating income $11.69B $980.10M $856.70M
Net income $9.23B $663.30M $594.50M
Free cash flow $9.38B – $358.22M
EPS (diluted) $20.76 $35.75 $4.65
Cash & equivalents $20.21B $161.80M $29.98M
Total debt $6.16B – $629.25M
Shares (diluted) 444.43M 18.55M 127.74M
Enterprise value $358.89B $9.50B $12.93B

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
MetricCOSTMUSABJ
P/E 47.3x 14.4x 22.1x
P/FCF 46.4x 17.2x 36.5x
P/Operating cash flow 27.5x 8.3x 11.7x
P/S 1.4x 0.4x 0.6x
P/B 12.2x 12.0x 6.0x
P/Tangible book 12.2x 14.5x 6.2x
EV/EBITDA 29.3x – 11.8x
EV/EBIT 36.0x – 16.0x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 0.4x 0.6x
EV/FCF 44.8x – 38.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.6x 8.3x 12.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.47 1.02 2.98

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCOSTMUSABJ
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.1% 20.2% 9.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 2.1% 5.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.0% – 6.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.4% – 5.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.5% 38.4% 3.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.9% 7.8% 3.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.9% 40.8% 2.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 8.1% 5.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 14.0% 45.9% 6.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 14.1% 7.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.6% 40.6% 18.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 16.1% 21.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.7% – 26.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% – 22.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCOSTMUSABJ
Gross margin 12.8% – 18.2%
EBITDA margin 4.7% – 5.1%
Operating margin 3.9% – 3.8%
Pretax margin 4.0% – 3.6%
Net margin 3.0% – 2.6%
FCF margin 3.1% – 1.6%
Operating cash flow margin 5.2% 4.9% 4.9%
Return on equity 26.6% 84.1% 27.5%
Return on assets 10.5% 12.9% 7.5%
Return on invested capital 21.7% – 21.9%
Return on capital employed 26.7% – 17.2%
Asset turnover 3.5x 4.5x 2.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.7x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCOSTMUSABJ
Debt / assets 6.9% – 7.9%
Debt / equity 0.2x – 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.1x – 0.5x
Debt / FCF 0.7x – 1.8x
Liabilities / assets 59.8% 84.7% 72.5%
Equity / assets 40.2% 15.3% 27.5%
Interest coverage 80.6x – 18.5x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.9x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.6x – 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.5x – 0.0x
Altman Z-score 9.23 – 4.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCOSTMUSABJ
Dividend yield 0.6% 0.5% –
Net buyback yield 0.2% – 4.1%
Shareholder yield 0.8% 0.5% 4.1%
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.

ConsensusCOSTMUSABJ
Forward P/E 46.3xFY2027 14.5xFY2026 22.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $21.22FY2027 $35.60FY2026 $4.57FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.2%FY2027 +43.0%FY2026 +3.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +22.4% -7.9% +13.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $345.44BFY2027 $22.85BFY2026 $22.88BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.0%FY2027 +17.9%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.4% -5.8% +14.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCOSTMUSABJ
Held by institutions 73.2% 83.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 4,210 606 638
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% -2.2% +1.8%
Institutions buying 1,921 310 325
Institutions selling 1,705 190 232
Buyers to sellers 1.13 1.63 1.40

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.

COSTMUSABJ
COST 1.00 0.20 0.53
MUSA 0.20 1.00 0.32
BJ 0.53 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry
COST · Warehouse Clubs

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, COST, MUSA and BJ?

Costco Wholesale (COST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Costco Wholesale (COST) $435.61B, Murphy USA (MUSA) $9.50B, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) $13.08B.

Which stock is cheaper, COST, MUSA and BJ?

Murphy USA (MUSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Costco Wholesale (COST) 47.3x, Murphy USA (MUSA) 14.4x, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) 22.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Murphy USA (MUSA) is cheapest (Costco Wholesale (COST) 46.3x, Murphy USA (MUSA) 14.5x, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) 22.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Murphy USA (MUSA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Costco Wholesale (COST) +10.1%, Murphy USA (MUSA) +20.2%, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) +9.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Murphy USA (MUSA) returned the most: Costco Wholesale (COST) +6.3%, Murphy USA (MUSA) +30.4%, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) +11.9%. Over five years, Murphy USA (MUSA) compounded fastest (Costco Wholesale (COST) +14.9%/yr, Murphy USA (MUSA) +26.0%/yr, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) +12.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Costco Wholesale (COST) has the highest dividend yield: Costco Wholesale (COST) 0.56%, Murphy USA (MUSA) 0.49%. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Costco Wholesale (COST) has been the steadiest (Costco Wholesale (COST) 20.0%, Murphy USA (MUSA) 39.6%, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) 30.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.