Costco Wholesale Corporation vs Yum! Brands, Inc. — how do they compare? Costco Wholesale Corporation trades at $920.03 (market cap $408.78B), while Yum! Brands, Inc. trades at $155.76 (market cap $43.60B). The key difference: Costco Wholesale Corporation is far larger — about 9.4× Yum! Brands, Inc.'s market cap, and Yum! Brands, Inc. pays the higher dividend (1.9%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| COST | YUM | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $408.78B | $43.60B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $1.09K | $168.16 |
52-Week Low | $849.63 | $138.21 |
Enterprise Value | $396.92B | $54.86B |
Dividend Yield | 0.64% | 1.9% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Costco (COST) trades at $923.9, down 0.27% with bearish technical signals but strong fundamentals. The stock shows consistent revenue growth, reaching $275.24B in 2025 with net income of $8.10B. Recent March sales surged 11.3% year-over-year to $28.41B, indicating robust business momentum. Analyst consensus remains strongly bullish with 65.5% buy ratings and a $1,120 price target, though valuation metrics appear elevated with P/E at 46.37.
The investment case balances premium valuation against exceptional operational execution. Membership fee increases and expanding warehouse network drive profitability, but high P/E ratio requires sustained growth. Key risks include competitive pressure and economic sensitivity, while institutional accumulation supports long-term confidence.
YUM Brands trades at $161.69, down 1.13% today, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and key resistance at $163. The company reported Q1 2026 EPS of $1.50, beating expectations, while revenue grew to $8.21B in 2025. Recent news includes a Taco Bell health investigation and the $2.7B Pizza Hut sale, which may streamline operations.
YUM's outlook is supported by strong cash flow and margin stability, but high debt and competitive pressures pose risks. Analysts maintain a $174.60 price target with a mixed buy/hold consensus. The stock offers growth potential post-Pizza Hut divestiture, though investor sentiment is cautious amid near-term headwinds.
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 →Yum Brands is a U.S.-based restaurant operator featuring a portfolio of four brands: KFC (26,930 global units), Pizza Hut (18,380 units), Taco Bell (7,790 units), and The Habit Burger (310 units) at year-end 2021. With $58 billion in 2021 systemwide sales, the firm is the second-largest restaurant company in the world, behind McDonald's ($112.5 billion) but ahead of Restaurant Brands International ($36 billion) and Starbucks ($25 billion). Yum is 98% franchised, with the largest franchisee, Yum China, created via a 2016 spinoff transaction (after which Yum China agreed to pay 3% royalties to Yum Brands in perpetuity). Yum is the newest evolution of Tricon Brands, formerly a division of PepsiCo, and generates the bulk of its revenue from franchise royalties and marketing contributions.
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