Costco Wholesale Corporation vs NetApp Inc. — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $941.99 (market cap $422.52B), while NetApp Inc. trades at $198.55 (market cap $39.00B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 10.8× NetApp Inc.'s market cap, and NetApp Inc. pays the higher dividend (1.05%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| COST | NTAP | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $422.52B | $39.00B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Technology |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $198.72 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $94.11 |
Enterprise Value | $410.66B | $38.14B |
Dividend Yield | 0.62% | 1.05% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Costco (COST) trades at $952.75, up 0.52% with neutral technical signals. The company shows steady revenue growth, reaching $275.24B in 2025, and maintains strong profitability with a 3.01% net margin. Recent earnings beat expectations in Q3 and Q4 2025 but missed in Q1 2026. Analyst sentiment remains bullish with 65.52% buy ratings and a $1,120 consensus price target, while institutional buying activity continues.
Costco's outlook is positive due to membership fee growth and expansion, though high valuation multiples (P/E 47.93) pose risks. Key opportunities include consistent cash flow generation and market share gains, while risks involve competitive pressures and economic sensitivity. The stock offers long-term growth potential but requires monitoring of valuation metrics.
NetApp (NTAP) trades at $189.52, down 1.02% on the day, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages and strong support at $186. The company reported Q1 2026 EPS of $2.43, beating estimates, and maintains robust profitability with an 18.43% net margin. Recent acquisitions of JetStream Software and DataPelago aim to enhance AI infrastructure capabilities, driving positive sentiment amid rising cloud demand.
Outlook remains favorable with consistent earnings beats and strategic AI investments, but risks include high valuation multiples (P/E 29.85) and competitive pressures. Analysts show mixed sentiment with a $170.73 consensus target, suggesting cautious optimism. Institutional holdings reflect confidence, though debt levels have risen to 29.89% of assets, warranting monitoring.
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 →NetApp is a leading provider of enterprise data management and storage solutions. The company's three operating business units are products, software maintenance, and hardware maintenance. NetApp transitioned from a data center storage firm to a company with software data management solutions for multicloud environments. The California-headquartered company sells globally and has approximately 10,000 employees.
Read more on NTAP →