MUSA vs PARR vs COST Stock Comparison

Murphy USA, Par Pacific Holdings and Costco Wholesale Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MUSA Murphy USA Inc.
$540.50 +6.5% 1M +37.8% 1Y
Market cap
$9.87B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$23.26B
Div. yield
–
Convenience Stores Consumer Staples
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Par Pacific Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Par Pacific Holdings 7, Costco Wholesale 3, Murphy USA 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMUSAPARRCOSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.87B $3.67B $450.04B COST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.9x 4.3x 48.8x PARR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.2x 2.9x 46.9x PARR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.2% +13.2% +10.1% MUSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 9.9% 3.0% PARR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 34.3% 21.7% PARR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.4x -1.1x COST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.8% +79.0% +9.2% PARR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +27.1%/yr +36.5%/yr +15.2%/yr PARR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.9% 59.4% 20.0% COST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 64/100 51/100 PARR

Percentile Scorecard

MUSAPARRCOST

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

AxisMUSAPARRCOST
Valuation 54 #19 of 40 77 #6 of 23 8 #37 of 40
Growth 78 #9 of 38 78 #5 of 19 76 #10 of 38
Profitability 94 #3 of 36 82 #4 of 18 74 #10 of 36
Financial Health 13 #35 of 40 61 #10 of 24 85 #7 of 40
Shareholder Returns 11 #25 of 28 24 #14 of 18 15 #24 of 28
Overall 50 64 51
  • MUSA ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • PARR ranked among 25 companies in Refining and Marketing
  • COST ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMUSAPARRCOSTSPY
1 month +6.5%-6.4%+7.7% +0.7%
3 months -12.4%-14.7%+4.4% +3.7%
6 months -8.1%+11.6%-1.8% +7.1%
Year to date +33.9%+108.6%+15.5% +12.8%
1 year +37.8%+79.0%+9.2% +11.9%
3 years +49.7%+126.3%+79.5% +85.2%
3 years, per year +14.4%+31.3%+21.6% +22.8%
5 years +231.7%+374.1%+102.6% +67.6%
5 years, per year +27.1%+36.5%+15.2% +10.9%
10 years +681.0%+455.6%+565.1% +262.0%
10 years, per year +22.8%+18.7%+20.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMUSAPARRCOSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.9%59.4%20.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.5%60.1%19.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.69-0.61-0.20 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.951.330.46 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.8%-69.7%-31.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -13.3%-18.5%-9.0% -1.2%
52-week high $623.43$89.89$1,094.32 $779.14
52-week low $356.57$34.83$850.00 $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.

MultipleMUSAPARRCOST
P/E now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 22.1x 4.1xmedian 8.8x 47.9xmedian 22.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 0.5x 0.4xmedian 0.2x 1.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 9.5x 3.2xmedian 7.0x 29.7xmedian 9.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 16.0x 8.9xmedian 7.5x 47.1xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 12.5xmedian 2.8x 1.9xmedian 1.7x 12.3xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median 1.07median 1.07 0.21median 0.34 3.52median 1.07

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 monthsMUSAPARRCOST
Revenue $23.26B $8.62B $303.15B
Gross profit – $1.99B $38.88B
Operating income $980.10M $1.16B $11.69B
Net income $663.30M $857.72M $9.23B
Free cash flow – $412.42M $9.38B
EPS (diluted) $35.75 $17.33 $20.76
Cash & equivalents $161.80M $185.00M $20.21B
Total debt – $739.20M $6.16B
Shares (diluted) 18.55M 49.44M 444.43M
Enterprise value $9.87B $2.99B $373.32B

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
MetricMUSAPARRCOST
P/E 15.0x 4.1x 47.9x
P/FCF 17.2x 8.9x 47.1x
P/Operating cash flow 8.6x 6.6x 27.9x
P/S 0.4x 0.4x 1.5x
P/B 12.5x 1.9x 12.3x
P/Tangible book 15.2x 1.9x 12.3x
EV/EBITDA – 3.2x 29.7x
EV/EBIT – 3.7x 36.5x
EV/Revenue 0.4x 0.5x 1.4x
EV/FCF – 10.2x 45.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.6x 7.6x 27.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.07 0.21 3.52

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMUSAPARRCOST
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.2% 13.2% 10.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.1% 5.5% 7.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 126.2% 10.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 16.6% 9.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 38.4% 1,543% 12.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.8% 18.7% 12.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 40.8% 4,579% 13.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 11.4% 13.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 45.9% 4,701% 14.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.1% 19.5% 13.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 40.6% 184.3% 18.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.1% -9.0% 12.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 1,269% 19.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -15.5% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMUSAPARRCOST
Gross margin – 23.1% 12.8%
EBITDA margin – 15.2% 4.7%
Operating margin – 13.4% 3.9%
Pretax margin – 12.8% 4.0%
Net margin – 9.9% 3.0%
FCF margin – 4.8% 3.1%
Operating cash flow margin 4.9% 6.4% 5.2%
Return on equity 84.1% 48.4% 26.6%
Return on assets 12.9% 19.4% 10.5%
Return on invested capital – 34.3% 21.7%
Return on capital employed – 38.1% 26.7%
Asset turnover 4.5x 2.0x 3.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 0.6x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.2% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMUSAPARRCOST
Debt / assets – 16.3% 6.9%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.4x -1.1x
Debt / FCF – 1.8x 0.7x
Liabilities / assets 84.7% 56.3% 59.8%
Equity / assets 15.3% 43.7% 40.2%
Interest coverage – 16.9x 80.6x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.8x 1.1x
Quick ratio – 0.5x 0.6x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.5x
Altman Z-score – 4.22 9.30

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMUSAPARRCOST
Dividend yield 0.5% – 0.6%
Net buyback yield – 2.2% 0.2%
Shareholder yield 0.5% 2.2% 0.7%
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.

ConsensusMUSAPARRCOST
Forward P/E 15.2xFY2026 2.9xFY2026 46.9xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $35.60FY2026 $25.02FY2026 $21.22FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +43.0%FY2026 +231.0%FY2026 +2.2%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after -7.9% -34.6% +22.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.85BFY2026 $9.78BFY2026 $345.44BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +17.9%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026 +14.0%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after -5.8% -12.4% -4.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMUSAPARRCOST
Held by institutions 83.0% 99.0% 73.2%
Institutions holding 607 366 4,211
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.2% -4.1% +5.0%
Institutions buying 311 202 1,921
Institutions selling 190 115 1,706
Buyers to sellers 1.64 1.76 1.13

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.

MUSAPARRCOST
MUSA 1.00 0.24 0.21
PARR 0.24 1.00 0.04
COST 0.21 0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MUSA, PARR and COST?

Costco Wholesale (COST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Murphy USA (MUSA) $9.87B, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) $3.67B, Costco Wholesale (COST) $450.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, MUSA, PARR and COST?

Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Murphy USA (MUSA) 14.9x, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) 4.3x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 48.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) is cheapest (Murphy USA (MUSA) 15.2x, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) 2.9x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 46.9x). 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: Murphy USA (MUSA) +20.2%, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) +13.2%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +10.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) has the highest net margin (Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) 9.9%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 3.0%). On return on invested capital, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) leads (Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) 34.3%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 21.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) returned the most: Murphy USA (MUSA) +37.8%, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) +79.0%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +9.2%. Over five years, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) compounded fastest (Murphy USA (MUSA) +27.1%/yr, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) +36.5%/yr, Costco Wholesale (COST) +15.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Costco Wholesale (COST) has been the steadiest (Murphy USA (MUSA) 39.9%, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) 59.4%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 20.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Par Pacific Holdings (PARR) leads on 7. 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.