vs
Side-by-side financial comparison of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA) and Costco (COST). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Costco is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($67.3B vs $38.8B, roughly 1.7× Alibaba Group Holding Ltd). Alibaba Group Holding Ltd runs the higher net margin — 5.8% vs 3.0%, a 2.8% gap on every dollar of revenue.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, branded as Alibaba, is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. Founded on 28 June 1999 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the company provides consumer-to-consumer (C2C), business-to-consumer (B2C), and business-to-business (B2B) sales services via Chinese and global marketplaces, as well as local consumer, digital media and entertainment, logistics, and cloud computing services. It owns and operates a diverse...
CostcoCOSTEarnings & Financial Report
Costco Wholesale Corporation, doing business as Costco, is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Costco is the world's largest retailer of beef, poultry, organic produce, and wine, with just under a third of American consumers regularly shopping at Costco warehouses.
BABA vs COST — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $38.8B | $67.3B |
| Net Profit | $2.2B | $2.0B |
| Gross Margin | 40.2% | 13.1% |
| Operating Margin | 6.6% | 3.7% |
| Net Margin | 5.8% | 3.0% |
| Revenue YoY | — | 8.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | — | 11.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $6.64 | $4.50 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $38.8B | $67.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $34.2B | $86.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $32.6B | $63.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $63.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $38.7B | $62.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $58.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $58.4B | ||
| Q4 23 | — | $57.8B |
| Q4 25 | $2.2B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.9B | $2.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.7B | $1.9B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $1.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $6.8B | $1.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $1.7B | ||
| Q4 23 | — | $1.6B |
| Q4 25 | 40.2% | 13.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 39.2% | 12.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 38.4% | 13.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 12.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 42.0% | 12.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 12.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 12.5% | ||
| Q4 23 | — | 12.7% |
| Q4 25 | 6.6% | 3.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.2% | 3.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 12.0% | 4.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 3.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 14.7% | 3.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 3.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 3.5% | ||
| Q4 23 | — | 3.4% |
| Q4 25 | 5.8% | 3.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 8.5% | 3.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 5.3% | 3.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 2.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 17.5% | 2.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 2.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 3.0% | ||
| Q4 23 | — | 2.7% |
| Q4 25 | $6.64 | $4.50 | ||
| Q3 25 | $8.72 | $5.87 | ||
| Q2 25 | $5.20 | $4.28 | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $4.02 | ||
| Q4 24 | $20.40 | $4.04 | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $3.78 | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $3.92 | ||
| Q4 23 | — | $3.58 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $18.3B | $17.2B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $148.7B | $30.3B |
| Total Assets | $268.6B | $82.8B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $18.3B | $17.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $19.0B | $15.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $20.0B | $14.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $13.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $22.3B | $11.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $11.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $10.3B | ||
| Q4 23 | — | $17.9B |
| Q4 25 | $148.7B | $30.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $145.0B | $29.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $139.2B | $27.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $25.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $137.2B | $24.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $21.8B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $20.8B | ||
| Q4 23 | — | $26.1B |
| Q4 25 | $268.6B | $82.8B | ||
| Q3 25 | $264.6B | $77.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $248.6B | $75.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $73.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $254.1B | $73.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $67.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $66.3B | ||
| Q4 23 | — | $73.7B |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $5.2B | $4.7B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | — | $3.2B |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | — | 4.7% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | — | 2.3% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 2.31× | 2.34× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | — | $9.0B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $5.2B | $4.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.4B | $3.9B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.8B | $3.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $2.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $9.7B | $3.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $3.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $731.0M | ||
| Q4 23 | — | $4.7B |
| Q4 25 | — | $3.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $1.9B | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $2.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $1.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $2.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $1.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $-300.0M | ||
| Q4 23 | — | $3.6B |
| Q4 25 | — | 4.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 2.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 3.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 2.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 3.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 3.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | -0.5% | ||
| Q4 23 | — | 6.2% |
| Q4 25 | — | 2.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 2.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 1.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 1.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 2.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 1.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 1.8% | ||
| Q4 23 | — | 1.8% |
| Q4 25 | 2.31× | 2.34× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.49× | 1.48× | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.19× | 1.82× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 1.54× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.43× | 1.81× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 1.78× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.42× | ||
| Q4 23 | — | 2.93× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
BABA
| Alibaba China E-commerce Group | $22.8B | 59% |
| All others | $9.6B | 25% |
| Cloud Intelligence Group | $6.2B | 16% |
COST
| Foods And Sundries | $27.1B | 40% |
| Non Foods | $19.2B | 28% |
| Other | $12.1B | 18% |
| Fresh Foods | $9.9B | 15% |
| Membership | $1.4B | 2% |
