Costco Wholesale Corporation vs United Microelectronics Corp — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $946.09 (market cap $420.05B), while United Microelectronics Corp trades at $23.1 (market cap $58.02B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 7.2× United Microelectronics Corp's market cap, and United Microelectronics Corp pays the higher dividend (1.76%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Costco Wholesale Corporation for 132 Days and United Microelectronics Corp for 42 Days on average.
| COST | UMC | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $420.05B | $58.02B |
Volume | 2,087,565 | 11,897,809 |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Technology |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $28.02 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $7.02 |
Typical Hold Time | 132 Days | 42 Days |
Enterprise Value | $407.33B | $55.10B |
Dividend Yield | 0.62% | 1.76% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Costco (COST) trades at $942.25, up 0.7% on the day, showing strong operational momentum with a 28.4% ROE and 11.3% March sales growth. The stock is near its 52-week high, supported by bullish moving averages, though RSI levels indicate potential overbought conditions. Recent membership fee hikes and robust cash flow generation underscore its resilient business model.
Outlook remains positive given analyst consensus and a $1,090 price target, but elevated P/E of 45.66 poses valuation risk. Key catalysts include sustained membership growth and expansion, while risks involve competitive pressures and macroeconomic sensitivity.
UMC trades at $23.31, up 0.52% with a bullish technical signal despite mixed moving averages. The company shows strong profitability with 32.75% net margin and 21.03% ROE, though revenue growth has moderated from 2022 peaks. Recent earnings beats and a Zacks Strong Buy upgrade (September 17, 2026) highlight positive momentum, while cash flow turned positive in 2025 after two years of outflows.
The stock presents growth potential with expanding AI opportunities and strong 22/28nm demand, but faces risks from semiconductor cycle volatility and competitive pressures. Analyst consensus is mixed with 27% buy ratings versus 20% sell, suggesting cautious optimism amid elevated valuation multiples.
Trailing returns across standard periods
What Pluang investors did over the last 30 days
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 →Founded in 1980, United Microelectronics is the world's third-largest dedicated chip foundry, with 7% market share in 2021, according to Gartner, after TSMC and GlobalFoundries. UMC's headquarters are in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and it operates 12 fabs in Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan and Singapore, with additional sales offices in Europe, the U.S. and South Korea. UMC features a diverse customer base including Texas Instruments, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Xilinx and Realtek, supplying a wide range of products applied in communications, display, memory, automotive and more. UMC employs about 20,000 people.
Read more on UMC →