Costco Wholesale Corporation vs CarMax, Inc — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $949 (market cap $418.79B), while CarMax, Inc trades at $58.5 (market cap $8.26B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 50.7× CarMax, Inc's market cap, and Costco Wholesale Corporation pays a 0.62% dividend while CarMax, Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| COST | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $418.79B | $8.26B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $62.17 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $30.88 |
Enterprise Value | $406.93B | $26.77B |
Dividend Yield | 0.62% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) trades at $948.43, down 0.45% on the day, with technical indicators signaling a bearish trend amid neutral oscillators. The stock shows strong fundamentals with revenue growth to $275.24 billion in 2025 and consistent earnings beats, though it missed Q1 2026 estimates. Recent news highlights membership fee hikes and robust March sales, while analyst consensus remains bullish with a $1,120 price target.
The outlook for COST is positive due to steady revenue growth and high analyst confidence, but risks include elevated valuation multiples and competitive pressures. Investment opportunity lies in its scalable business model and membership-driven profits, though investors should monitor earnings consistency and macroeconomic impacts on consumer spending.
CarMax (KMX) trades at $58.705, down 0.13% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages. The company reported mixed quarterly earnings, missing in Q2 2025 but beating in Q3 2025 and Q1 2026, with net income of $500.56M in 2025. Recent news includes a Zacks Strong Buy rating and a partnership with Sierra to enhance customer service, though ongoing legal investigations pose a headwind.
The stock's outlook is cautiously optimistic, supported by improving cash flow trends and analyst buy ratings, but risks include high debt levels and margin pressures. With a consensus price target of $53.09 below the current price, near-term upside may be limited despite positive momentum indicators.
Trailing returns across standard periods
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 →CarMax sells, finances, and services used and new cars through a chain of over 230 used retail stores. It was formed in 1993 as a unit of Circuit City and spun off into an independent company in late 2002. Used-vehicle sales typically account for about 83% of revenue and wholesale about 13%, with the remaining portion composed of extended service plans and repair. In fiscal 2022, the company retailed and wholesaled 924,338 and 706,212 used vehicles, respectively. CarMax is the largest used-vehicle retailer in the U.S. but still estimates that it has only about 4% U.S. market share of vehicles 0-10 years old in 2021. It seeks over 5% share by the end of calendar 2025 and revenue between $33 billion to $45 billion by fiscal 2026. CarMax is based in Richmond, Virginia.
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