Costco Wholesale Corporation vs Morgan Stanley — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $921.16 (market cap $408.78B), while Morgan Stanley trades at $230.2 (market cap $359.10B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation and Morgan Stanley are close in size by market cap, and Morgan Stanley pays the higher dividend (1.76%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| COST | MS | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $408.78B | $359.10B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Financials |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $228.17 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $139.09 |
Enterprise Value | $396.92B | — |
Dividend Yield | 0.64% | 1.76% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Costco (COST) trades at $926.43, up 1.11% with strong fundamentals including 11.3% March sales growth and consistent earnings beats. The stock faces technical headwinds with bearish moving averages but maintains solid profitability with $8.1B net income and expanding margins. Recent membership fee increases and warehouse expansion support long-term growth, though high valuation multiples present near-term pressure.
Outlook remains positive with analyst consensus at $1,120 price target (65% buy ratings), but investors should monitor valuation sustainability amid technical weakness. Key risks include competitive pressures and economic sensitivity, while institutional accumulation and strong cash flow generation provide fundamental support.
Morgan Stanley (MS) trades at $221.09, down 0.54% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and strong fundamental performance including three consecutive quarterly earnings beats. Revenue grew to $66.0B in 2025 with net income margin expanding to 25.56%, while analyst consensus remains positive with a $225.80 price target. Recent news highlights the firm's role in leading Anthropic's upcoming IPO and expanding AI integration in wealth management.
The outlook for MS is favorable given earnings momentum and strategic positioning in high-growth areas like AI and IPO advisory, though risks include volatile cash flows and high debt levels. The stock presents a potential 2.1% upside to the consensus target, supported by 53.85% analyst buy ratings, but investors should monitor interest expense and macroeconomic impacts on financial services.
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 →Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank whose history, through its legacy firms, can be traced back to 1924. The company has institutional securities, wealth management, and investment management segments. The company had about $5 trillion of client assets as well as over 70,000 employees at the end of 2021. Approximately 50% of the company's net revenue is from its institutional securities business, with the remainder coming from wealth and investment management. The company derives about 30% of its total revenue outside the Americas.
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