Costco Wholesale Corporation vs Lamb Weston Holdings Inc — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $921.4 (market cap $408.78B), while Lamb Weston Holdings Inc trades at $46.45 (market cap $6.42B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 63.7× Lamb Weston Holdings Inc's market cap, and Lamb Weston Holdings Inc pays the higher dividend (3.27%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| COST | LW | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $408.78B | $6.42B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Consumer Staples |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $66.57 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $38.48 |
Enterprise Value | $396.92B | $10.38B |
Dividend Yield | 0.64% | 3.27% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
COST trades at $926.43, up 1.11% today, with a bearish technical signal but strong fundamentals. Revenue grew to $275.24B in 2025, with net income up to $8.10B, and March 2026 sales surged 11.3% year-over-year (Costco report, April 8, 2026). Valuation ratios are elevated, with a P/E of 46.6, while analyst consensus is bullish with a $1,120 price target. Recent membership fee hikes and institutional buying support growth prospects.
Outlook remains positive due to steady revenue growth and high membership renewal rates, but risks include rich valuations and competitive pressures. The stock offers long-term value if pullbacks occur, with earnings momentum key for upside. Bearish technicals suggest near-term caution, though fundamentals underpin investor confidence.
Lamb Weston (LW) trades at $46.98, up 1.14% with a bullish technical signal and consistent earnings beats. The company shows strong operational cash flow of $868.3M in 2025 and maintains positive revenue growth, though net income margin declined to 4.61%. Recent news highlights the 'Focus to Win' strategy showing early traction with North America volume gains and cost savings.
Outlook remains cautiously optimistic with analyst consensus price target of $49.33 offering 5% upside. Key risks include ongoing securities litigation and margin pressure from competitive dynamics. Institutional sentiment leans positive with activist involvement signaling potential value creation opportunities.
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 →Lamb Weston is the world's second-largest producer of branded and private-label frozen potato products, such as French fries, sweet potato fries, tater tots, diced potatoes, mashed potatoes, hash browns, and chips. The company also has a small appetizer business that produces onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and cheese curds. Including joint ventures, 63% of fiscal 2022 revenue was U.S.-based, with the remainder stemming from Europe, Canada, Japan, China, Korea, Mexico, and several other countries. Lamb Weston's customer mix is estimated 58% quick-serve restaurants, 19% full-service restaurants, 8% other food services (hotels, commercial cafeterias, arenas, schools), and 16% retail. Lamb Weston became an independent company in 2016 when it was spun off from Conagra.
Read more on LW →