TCOM vs COST vs LUV Stock Comparison

Trip.com, Costco Wholesale and Southwest Airlines Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
TCOM Trip.com Group Ltd
$39.78 -2.1% 1M -44.0% 1Y
Market cap
$26.24B
P/E
7.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.45B
Div. yield
–
Travel Services Consumer Discretionary
5 wins
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
5 wins
LUV Southwest Airlines Co
$41.74 +1.7% 1M +31.9% 1Y
Market cap
$20.96B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$31.55B
Div. yield
–
Airlines Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Costco Wholesale leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Costco Wholesale 5, Trip.com 5, Southwest Airlines 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTCOMCOSTLUVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $26.24B $446.27B $20.96B COST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.7x 48.4x 19.9x TCOM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.0x 47.2x 15.7x TCOM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.1% +10.1% +14.5% TCOM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 36.1% 3.0% 3.3% TCOM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.3% 21.7% 8.2% COST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.1x 0.8x COST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -44.0% +6.5% +31.9% LUV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.5%/yr +15.8%/yr -2.6%/yr COST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.3% 20.0% 43.4% COST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 81/100 51/100 59/100 TCOM

Percentile Scorecard

TCOMCOSTLUV

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

AxisTCOMCOSTLUV
Valuation 82 #6 of 29 8 #37 of 40 54 #63 of 136
Growth 80 #6 of 26 78 #9 of 38 88 #15 of 122
Profitability 68 #9 of 26 72 #11 of 37 43 #68 of 119
Financial Health 93 #3 of 31 85 #7 of 40 32 #100 of 147
Shareholder Returns – 11 #25 of 28 77 #20 of 84
Overall 81 51 59
  • TCOM ranked among 32 companies in Travel and Lodging
  • COST ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • LUV ranked among 150 companies in Transportation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTCOMCOSTLUVSPY
1 month -2.1%+10.9%+1.7% -1.0%
3 months -8.8%+7.3%-7.4% +2.9%
6 months -25.1%-0.8%+5.8% +6.4%
Year to date -44.7%+16.3%+1.0% +11.4%
1 year -44.0%+6.5%+31.9% +13.1%
3 years +14.8%+81.8%+74.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +4.7%+22.1%+20.4% +21.5%
5 years +30.7%+108.2%-12.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +5.5%+15.8%-2.6% +10.9%
10 years -16.4%+573.5%-1.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year -1.8%+21.0%-0.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureTCOMCOSTLUVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.3%20.0%43.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.1%19.6%38.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.60-0.201.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.210.330.73 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.9%-31.5%-57.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -49.6%-8.3%-23.8% -2.5%
52-week high $78.96$1,094.32$54.80 $779.14
52-week low $37.96$850.00$29.67 $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.

MultipleTCOMCOSTLUV
P/E now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 18.8x 48.3xmedian 21.6x 19.4xmedian 16.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 1.5x 1.5xmedian 0.5x 0.6xmedian 1.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 15.0x 29.9xmedian 9.7x 7.7xmedian 8.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 16.0x 47.4xmedian 17.8x -45.5xmedian 11.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 2.5x 12.4xmedian 3.0x 2.8xmedian 1.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.15median 0.37 3.55median 1.06 0.48median 0.82

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 monthsTCOMCOSTLUV
Revenue $9.45B $303.15B $31.55B
Gross profit $7.55B $38.88B –
Operating income $1.50B $11.69B $1.39B
Net income $3.42B $9.23B $1.05B
Free cash flow – $9.38B -$449.00M
R&D $2.30B – –
EPS (diluted) $4.88 $20.76 $2.13
Cash & equivalents $8.26B $20.21B $3.62B
Total debt $18.23B $23.19B $5.89B
Shares (diluted) 698.38M 444.43M 494.00M
Enterprise value -$18.80B $369.55B $6.98B

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
MetricTCOMCOSTLUV
P/E 7.7x 48.3x 19.4x
P/FCF – 47.4x -45.5x
P/Operating cash flow – 28.1x 7.4x
P/S 2.7x 1.5x 0.6x
P/B 1.1x 12.4x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 1.2x 12.4x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA – 29.9x 7.7x
EV/EBIT 12.0x 36.8x 16.4x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 1.4x 0.7x
EV/FCF – 45.8x -50.6x
EV/Operating cash flow – 27.2x 8.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.15 3.55 0.48

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTCOMCOSTLUV
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.1% 10.1% 14.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 27.2% 7.8% 7.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 16.9% 10.0% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 40.9% 9.4% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -28.2% 12.5% 339.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 42.4% 12.9% 78.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 34.1% 13.9% 177.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 54.9% 13.6% 28.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 33.2% 14.0% 195.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 51.8% 13.6% 40.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 18.6% 36.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 12.6% -6.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 19.7% -35.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 11.6% 20.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTCOMCOSTLUV
Gross margin 80.0% 12.8% –
EBITDA margin – 4.7% 9.4%
Operating margin 15.9% 3.9% 4.4%
Pretax margin 45.7% 4.0% 4.3%
Net margin 36.1% 3.0% 3.3%
FCF margin – 3.1% -1.4%
Operating cash flow margin – 5.2% 8.7%
Return on equity 14.3% 26.6% 14.6%
Return on assets 8.9% 10.5% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 5.3% 21.7% 8.2%
Return on capital employed 6.1% 26.7% 8.3%
Asset turnover 0.2x 3.5x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.7x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTCOMCOSTLUV
Debt / assets 10.2% 6.9% 19.3%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.2x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.1x 0.8x
Debt / FCF – 0.7x -13.1x
Liabilities / assets 38.0% 59.8% 76.0%
Equity / assets 62.0% 40.2% 24.0%
Interest coverage 19.8x 80.6x 5.9x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.1x 0.5x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.6x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.5x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 9.33 2.20

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTCOMCOSTLUV
Dividend yield – 0.6% 1.7%
Net buyback yield – 0.2% 6.1%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.7% 7.8%
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.

ConsensusTCOMCOSTLUV
Forward P/E 11.0xFY2026 47.2xFY2027 15.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.61FY2026 $21.24FY2027 $2.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -44.6%FY2026 +2.3%FY2027 +186.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.2% +22.4% +62.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.43BFY2026 $345.31BFY2027 $31.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.7%FY2026 +13.9%FY2027 +10.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +21.0% -4.5% +15.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTCOMCOSTLUV
Held by institutions 23.0% 73.2% 92.9%
Institutions holding 319 4,208 930
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.2% +5.0% +4.4%
Institutions buying 152 1,920 476
Institutions selling 119 1,704 280
Buyers to sellers 1.28 1.13 1.70

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.

TCOMCOSTLUV
TCOM 1.00 0.03 0.10
COST 0.03 1.00 -0.06
LUV 0.10 -0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TCOM, COST and LUV?

Costco Wholesale (COST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Trip.com (TCOM) $26.24B, Costco Wholesale (COST) $446.27B, Southwest Airlines (LUV) $20.96B.

Which stock is cheaper, TCOM, COST and LUV?

Trip.com (TCOM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Trip.com (TCOM) 7.7x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 48.4x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 19.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Trip.com (TCOM) is cheapest (Trip.com (TCOM) 11.0x, Costco Wholesale (COST) 47.2x, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 15.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Trip.com (TCOM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Trip.com (TCOM) +18.1%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +10.1%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +14.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Trip.com (TCOM) has the highest net margin (Trip.com (TCOM) 36.1%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 3.0%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 3.3%). On return on invested capital, Costco Wholesale (COST) leads (Trip.com (TCOM) 5.3%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 21.7%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 8.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Southwest Airlines (LUV) returned the most: Trip.com (TCOM) -44.0%, Costco Wholesale (COST) +6.5%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) +31.9%. Over five years, Costco Wholesale (COST) compounded fastest (Trip.com (TCOM) +5.5%/yr, Costco Wholesale (COST) +15.8%/yr, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Costco Wholesale (COST) has been the steadiest (Trip.com (TCOM) 36.3%, Costco Wholesale (COST) 20.0%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) 43.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.