Burlington Stores Inc vs Costco Wholesale Corporation — how do they compare? Burlington Stores Inc trades at $345.5 (market cap $21.04B), while Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $921.64 (market cap $408.78B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 19.4× Burlington Stores Inc's market cap, and Costco Wholesale Corporation pays a 0.64% dividend while Burlington Stores Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| BURL | COST | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $21.04B | $408.78B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Consumer Staples |
52-Week High | $347.82 | $1.09K |
52-Week Low | $242.43 | $849.63 |
Enterprise Value | $26.17B | $396.92B |
Dividend Yield | — | 0.64% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Burlington Stores (BURL) trades at $327.59, showing minimal daily movement with a slight 0.04% decline. The stock maintains strong bullish technical signals with moving averages supporting upward momentum, though RSI levels suggest potential overbought conditions. Fundamentally, the company demonstrates robust performance with consistent earnings beats, including Q1 2026 EPS of $2.01 exceeding expectations of $1.80. Revenue growth continues with 2025 reaching $10.63 billion and projected increase to $11.9 billion in 2026.
Outlook remains positive with 94% analyst buy ratings and $364.40 consensus price target representing 11% upside. Key opportunities include margin expansion and store productivity improvements, while risks involve competitive retail pressures and inventory management challenges. The company's strong cash flow generation and debt-to-asset ratio of 19.5% provide financial stability for continued growth initiatives.
Costco (COST) trades at $921.73, down 0.51% on the day, with a bearish technical signal but strong fundamental growth. Revenue reached $275.24B in 2025 with net income of $8.10B, and March 2026 sales grew 11.3% year-over-year. The stock carries premium valuations (P/E 46.37, P/S 1.4) while maintaining steady margin expansion. Analyst consensus remains strongly bullish with a $1,120 price target, though recent earnings miss in Q1 2026 highlights execution risks amid high expectations.
Outlook: Costco's membership fee increase and warehouse expansion support long-term growth, but elevated valuation requires flawless execution. Risks include competitive pressures and macroeconomic sensitivity. Institutional accumulation continues, with 65% analyst buy ratings signaling confidence in the company's resilient business model and cash flow generation.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Burlington is a leading off-price retailer in the US, offering branded apparel, footwear, and home goods at significant discounts. It operates hundreds of stores focused on delivering high-quality products at great value.
Read more on BURL →The leading warehouse club, Costco has 815 stores worldwide (at the end of fiscal 2021), with most sales derived in the United States (72%) and Canada (14%). It sells memberships that allow customers to shop in its warehouses, which feature low prices on a limited product assortment. Costco mainly caters to individual shoppers, but roughly 20% of paid members carry business memberships. Food and sundries accounted for 40% of fiscal 2021 sales, with non-food merchandise 29%, warehouse ancillary and other businesses (such as fuel and pharmacy) nearly 17%, and fresh food 14%. Costco's warehouses average around 146,000 square feet
Read more on COST →