FrançaisCostco vs Walmart: which stock to buy?
Head to head
| Metric | Costco | Walmart | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $935 | $103 | |
| Median target (12m) | $1,135 (+21%) | $131 (+28%) | |
| Analyst reliability (1y) | 60% | 64% | 🔵 WMT |
| Avg gain / call (1y) | +22% | +22% | |
| P/E | 48.1 | 37.1 | 🔵 WMT |
| $1000 invested (10y ago) | $5,792 | $5,120 | 🟢 COST |
Performance by year
| Year | COST | WMT | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | +8% | -5% | 🟢 COST |
| 2025 | -6% | +21% | 🔵 WMT |
| 2024 | +39% | +78% | 🔵 WMT |
| 2023 | +45% | +15% | 🟢 COST |
| 2022 | -20% | +3% | 🔵 WMT |
| 2021 | +51% | -0% | 🟢 COST |
| 2020 | +28% | +23% | 🟢 COST |
| 2019 | +44% | +19% | 🟢 COST |
| 2018 | +9% | -10% | 🟢 COST |
| 2017 | +16% | +60% | 🔵 WMT |
| 2016 | -1% | +1% | 🔵 WMT |
Frequently asked questions
Costco or Walmart: which to buy?
Over ~10 years, Costco returned $5,792 on $1000 vs $5,120 for Walmart, and Walmart has better analyst reliability. Not advice: also check valuation (P/E) and your horizon.
Costco vs Walmart: which performed best?
Over ~10 years, Costco wins ($5,792 vs $5,120 on $1000 invested, price return excluding dividends).
Costco vs Walmart: which is cheaper?
On P/E, Walmart is cheaper (48.1 vs 37.1). A lower P/E isn't always a better deal (growth matters).
What is JPI Invest?
JPI Invest aggregates analyst recommendations across the entire S&P 500 (plus the S&P MidCap 400), replays them against real prices and measures who predicts best — on results, not reputation. Instead of taking a price target at face value, you see each analyst's track record on each stock.
- 🏆 Analyst leaderboard by real reliability (beating their sector, not just riding the rally)
- 🎯 What to buy: 3 backtested methods over 6 years, from cautious to aggressive
- 💬 AI assistant: ask anything about any stock, with the numbers
- 📊 Portfolio tracking + 🔔 price alerts by email
⚠️ Educational information, not investment advice. Past price performance (excluding dividends). Data: Yahoo Finance.