Costco Wholesale Corporation vs First Citizens BancShares Inc — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $917 (market cap $408.78B), while First Citizens BancShares Inc trades at $2,070.84 (market cap $23.65B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 17.3× First Citizens BancShares Inc's market cap, and Costco Wholesale Corporation pays the higher dividend (0.64%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| COST | FCNCA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $408.78B | $23.65B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Sector/Thematic |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $2.20K |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $1.64K |
Enterprise Value | $396.92B | — |
Dividend Yield | 0.64% | 0.41% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Costco (COST) trades at $916.54, down 1.07% on the day, with a bearish technical signal but strong fundamental performance. The company reported solid March sales growth of 11.3% year-over-year and has consistently beaten earnings expectations in recent quarters. Valuation metrics remain elevated with a P/E of 46.37 and P/S of 1.4, while profitability metrics show steady improvement with net income margin reaching 3.01% in 2025.
Despite high valuations, Costco maintains strong competitive positioning with membership fee revenue growth and expanding warehouse footprint. Key risks include valuation compression and competitive pressures. Analyst consensus remains strongly bullish with 65.5% buy ratings and a $1,120 price target representing 22% upside potential from current levels.
First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA) trades at $2,106.06, up 0.64% with a bullish technical outlook and strong fundamental performance. The stock shows consistent earnings beats, with Q1 2026 EPS of $44.86 exceeding expectations by 13.4%. Recent developments include expansion of commercial banking capabilities and the planned retirement of the Silicon Valley Bank brand name in Q4 2026. The company maintains solid profitability with a 24.35% net income margin and 10.5% ROE, supported by $9.25B in revenue for 2025.
FCNCA presents a mixed investment case with strong fundamentals but cautious analyst sentiment. While valuation appears reasonable at 11.89 P/E and 1.18 P/B ratios, the majority of analysts (81.82%) maintain Hold ratings. Key opportunities include continued earnings momentum and strategic brand alignment, while risks involve margin pressure and credit exposure in the tech sector. The consensus price target of $2,320 suggests modest upside potential from current levels.
Trailing returns across standard periods
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 →First Citizens BancShares is a major US regional bank providing diverse financial services. It recently expanded significantly by acquiring the assets and liabilities of Silicon Valley Bank.
Read more on FCNCA →