Costco Wholesale Corporation vs S&P Global Inc — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $924.43 (market cap $408.78B), while S&P Global Inc trades at $447.72 (market cap $129.91B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 3.1× S&P Global Inc's market cap, and S&P Global Inc pays the higher dividend (0.88%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| COST | SPGI | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $408.78B | $129.91B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Financials |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $534.79 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $370.42 |
Enterprise Value | $396.92B | $141.87B |
Dividend Yield | 0.64% | 0.88% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) trades at $923.76, down 0.29% on the day, as technical indicators signal a bearish trend with the price near pivot point support. Fundamentally, the company shows consistent revenue growth, reaching $275.24B in 2025, and strong cash flow generation of $13.34B from operations, though valuation metrics like a P/E of 46.37 appear elevated. Recent news highlights a March sales surge of 11.3% year-over-year and the first membership fee increase in seven years, which analysts view positively for future profit growth.
The investment outlook balances strong business fundamentals against a high valuation and near-term technical weakness. Upside potential is supported by robust membership renewal rates, expanding margins, and a consensus price target of $1,120. Key risks include sensitivity to consumer spending, competitive pressures in retail, and the stock's premium valuation requiring sustained execution to justify further gains.
S&P Global (SPGI) trades at $437.84, up 1.7% today, with a bullish technical outlook and strong analyst consensus. The stock shows robust fundamentals with 2025 revenue of $15.34B and net income margin of 30.36%. Recent developments include the completion of the Mobility Global spinoff and a strategic shift toward AI-driven market intelligence solutions, positioning the company for sustained growth amid favorable debt issuance trends.
The outlook for SPGI is positive, driven by margin expansion targets and increasing API usage linked to AI adoption. Key risks include interest rate sensitivity in the ratings segment and competitive pressures. With 85.7% of analysts rating it a Buy and a consensus price target of $532.38, the stock offers significant upside potential, though investors should monitor execution on growth initiatives.
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 →S&P Global provides data and benchmarks to capital and commodity market participants. In 2021 and excluding IHS Markit, S&P Ratings was over 45% of the firm's revenue and over 55% of the firm's operating income. S&P Ratings is the largest credit rating agency in the world. The firm's other segments include Market Intelligence, Indices, and Platts. Market Intelligence provides desktop tools and other data solutions to investment banks, corporations, and other entities. Indices provides benchmarks for financial markets and is monetized through subscriptions, asset-based fees, and transaction-based royalties. Platts provides benchmarks to commodity markets, principally petroleum.
Read more on SPGI →