Costco Wholesale Corporation vs Southwest Airlines Co — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $943.51 (market cap $417.54B), while Southwest Airlines Co trades at $41.4 (market cap $20.41B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 20.5× Southwest Airlines Co's market cap, and Southwest Airlines Co pays the higher dividend (1.73%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Costco Wholesale Corporation for 132 Days and Southwest Airlines Co for 65 Days on average.
| COST | LUV | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $417.54B | $20.41B |
Volume | 1,767,362 | 4,706,365 |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Industrials |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $54.80 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $29.67 |
Typical Hold Time | 132 Days | 65 Days |
Enterprise Value | $404.81B | $23.51B |
Dividend Yield | 0.62% | 1.73% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Costco (COST) trades at $947.92, up 1.31% with strong technical momentum and bullish moving averages. The company demonstrates consistent revenue growth, reaching $275.24B in 2025, with net income of $8.10B and robust cash flow generation. Recent March sales surged 11.3% year-over-year, while analyst consensus remains strongly bullish with a $1,090 price target. The stock trades near resistance at $947 with RSI levels indicating potential overbought conditions.
Costco's membership fee increase and expanding warehouse network support long-term growth, though elevated valuation metrics (P/E 45.39) present near-term risk. Strong institutional buying and 66% analyst buy ratings reflect confidence in the business model. Key risks include competitive pressures and macroeconomic sensitivity, but the company's defensive positioning and consistent execution provide stability.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) trades at $41.36, down 2.57% with a bearish technical signal. The company shows mixed fundamentals with a P/E of 26.08 and net margin of 2.78%, while recent earnings beat expectations in Q2 2026. Cash flow trends improved significantly in 2026 projections. Analyst consensus is divided with 42% buy ratings and a $49.61 price target representing 20% upside potential.
LUV's transformation initiatives show promise with projected $2 billion EBIT from new fare structures, though high fuel costs and competitive pressures remain risks. The stock offers value with P/S of 0.73 and strong revenue growth outlook, but requires monitoring of Q3 2026 earnings due October 22 for confirmation of the turnaround trajectory.
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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 →Southwest Airlines is the largest domestic carrier in the United States, as measured by the number of originating passengers boarded. Southwest operates over 700 aircraft in an all-Boeing 737 fleet. Despite expanding into longer routes and business travel, the airline still specializes in short-haul leisure flights, using a point-to-point network. Southwest operates a low-cost carrier business model.
Read more on LUV →