Costco Wholesale Corporation vs Hormel Foods Corp — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $946.92 (market cap $420.05B), while Hormel Foods Corp trades at $19.19 (market cap $10.69B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 39.3× Hormel Foods Corp's market cap, and Hormel Foods Corp pays the higher dividend (6.02%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Costco Wholesale Corporation for 133 Days and Hormel Foods Corp for 99 Days on average.
| COST | HRL | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $420.05B | $10.69B |
Volume | 2,087,565 | 10,041,387 |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Consumer Staples |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $26.50 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $19.19 |
Typical Hold Time | 133 Days | 99 Days |
Enterprise Value | $407.33B | $12.67B |
Dividend Yield | 0.62% | 6.02% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Costco (COST) trades at $947.92, up 0.6% with strong technical momentum. The stock shows robust fundamentals with revenue growth from $275.24B in 2025 to projected $303.2B in 2026 and improving net margins. Recent March sales surged 11.3% year-over-year, while analyst consensus remains strongly bullish with 66% buy ratings and a $1,100 price target. Technical indicators show bullish moving averages but overbought RSI levels near resistance at $954.
Outlook remains positive given membership fee increases and expansion potential, though high valuation multiples (P/E 45.66) pose risk if growth slows. Key risks include competitive pressures and economic sensitivity. Institutional accumulation continues with multiple advisors increasing positions in Q4 2025, supporting the bullish thesis.
Hormel Foods (HRL) trades at $19.42, down 0.66% with a bearish technical signal. The company shows mixed fundamentals with a P/E of 31.32 and net margin of 2.82%, though it has beaten EPS estimates in recent quarters. Recent news highlights the $1.06B Brakebush acquisition to expand foodservice presence, while maintaining its 60-year dividend king status with a quarterly payout of $0.2925.
The outlook is cautious with analyst consensus at Buy 20%/Hold 57%/Sell 23% and a $24.25 price target suggesting 25% upside. Key risks include declining profit margins, high payout ratio concerns, and integration challenges from the Brakebush acquisition. The stock offers dividend stability but faces growth headwinds in a competitive food sector.
Trailing returns across standard periods
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Latest headlines on both assets
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 →Hormel Foods is a protein-focused branded food company. Its brands include its namesake Hormel, Spam, Jennie-O, Dinty Moore, Applegate, Wholly Guacamole, and Skippy. The vast majority of the company's revenue is U.S.-based: 64% U.S. retail, 28% U.S. food service, and 8% international. By product type, in fiscal 2021, 23% of revenue was shelf-stable foods, 18% was poultry (branded and commodity), 55% was other perishable food, and 3% was other, primarily nutritional products. The company holds the number-one market position in shelf-stable meat, shelf-stable ready meals, pepperoni, natural/organic deli meat, and guacamole and the number-two position in turkey, bacon, chilled ready meals, and peanut butter.
Read more on HRL →