Costco Wholesale Corporation vs Union Pacific Corporation — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $921.75 (market cap $408.78B), while Union Pacific Corporation trades at $288 (market cap $171.17B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 2.4× Union Pacific Corporation's market cap, and Union Pacific Corporation pays the higher dividend (1.91%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| COST | UNP | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $408.78B | $171.17B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Industrials |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $289.13 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $214.91 |
Enterprise Value | $396.92B | $201.64B |
Dividend Yield | 0.64% | 1.91% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
No Aura AI signal available yet.
Union Pacific (UNP) trades at $289.13, up 0.76% with a bullish technical signal. The company shows strong profitability with 29.2% net margins and 40.69% ROE, though valuation multiples remain elevated. Recent earnings beat expectations in Q1 2026, and the proposed Norfolk Southern merger represents a significant growth catalyst. Cash flow generation remains robust at $9.29B from operations in 2025.
Outlook remains positive with analyst consensus at Buy and $304.23 price target, though regulatory hurdles for the merger and elevated RSI levels pose near-term risks. The stock offers dividend growth potential with stable operational performance, but faces headwinds from industry consolidation concerns and potential legal liabilities from ongoing class action litigation.
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 →Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific is the largest public railroad in North America. Operating on more than 30,000 miles of track in the western two thirds of the U.S., UP generated roughly $22 billion of revenue in 2021 by hauling coal, industrial products, intermodal containers, agriculture goods, chemicals, and automotive goods. UP owns about one fourth of Mexican railroad Ferromex and derives about 10% of its revenue hauling freight to and from Mexico.
Read more on UNP →