Amazon vs Costco
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Amazon and Costco side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Amazon is the larger business, with $716.9B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $303.2B for Costco, about 2.4 times as much.
- Amazon grew revenue faster (12.4%, against 10.1%).
- Amazon kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (11.2% operating margin, against 3.9%).
- Costco turned more of its sales into free cash flow (3.1% FCF margin, against 1.1%).
- Costco earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (40.7%, against 20.6%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Amazon
AMZN
5/11
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet margin
Costco
COST
6/11
FCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | AMZN FY25 | COST FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $2.72T | $446.7B |
| Revenue | $716.9B | $303.2B |
| Free cash flow | $7.7B | $9.4B |
| Net income | $77.7B | $9.2B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 12.4% | 10.1% |
| 5-year growth | 13.2% | 9.1% |
| Share count change | 1.0% | −0.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 50.3% | 12.8% |
| Operating margin | 11.2% | 3.9% |
| Net margin | 10.8% | 3.0% |
| FCF margin | 1.1% | 3.1% |
| Return on capital | 20.6% | 40.7% |
| Return on equity | 22.3% | 28.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$41.5B | −$13.7B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.3x | −1.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $3.3B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 20.0x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 7 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.