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Side-by-side financial comparison of Costco (COST) and Dollar General (DG), based on the latest 10-Q / 10-K filings. Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Costco is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($67.3B vs $10.6B, roughly 6.3× Dollar General). Costco runs the higher net margin — 3.0% vs 2.7%, a 0.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Costco posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (8.3% vs 4.6%). Costco produced more free cash flow last quarter ($3.2B vs $690.4M). Over the past eight quarters, Costco's revenue compounded faster (7.3% CAGR vs 4.3%).
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.
Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of discount stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 8, 2024, Dollar General operated 20,388 stores in the contiguous United States and Mexico.
COST vs DG — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 2026 vs Q3 2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $67.3B | $10.6B |
| Net Profit | $2.0B | $282.7M |
| Gross Margin | 13.1% | 29.9% |
| Operating Margin | 3.7% | 4.0% |
| Net Margin | 3.0% | 2.7% |
| Revenue YoY | 8.3% | 4.6% |
| Net Profit YoY | 11.3% | 43.8% |
| EPS (diluted) | $4.50 | $1.28 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align — see 8-quarter trend below.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history — bar widths are scaled to the larger of the two companies so you can eyeball the size gap and growth trajectory without doing math. Quarters aligned by calendar period (report date) so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $67.3B | $10.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $86.2B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $63.2B | $10.4B | ||
| Q1 25 | $63.7B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $62.2B | $10.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $10.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $58.5B | $9.9B | ||
| Q1 24 | $58.4B | $9.9B |
| Q4 25 | $2.0B | $282.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.6B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.9B | $391.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.8B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.8B | $196.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $374.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.7B | $363.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.7B | $401.8M |
| Q4 25 | 13.1% | 29.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 12.9% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 13.0% | 31.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 12.5% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 12.9% | 28.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 30.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 12.5% | 30.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 12.5% | 29.5% |
| Q4 25 | 3.7% | 4.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.9% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.0% | 5.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.6% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.5% | 3.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 5.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.8% | 5.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.5% | 5.9% |
| Q4 25 | 3.0% | 2.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.0% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.0% | 3.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.8% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.9% | 1.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 3.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.9% | 3.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.0% | 4.1% |
| Q4 25 | $4.50 | $1.28 | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.87 | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.28 | $1.78 | ||
| Q1 25 | $4.02 | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $4.04 | $0.89 | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $1.70 | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.78 | $1.65 | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.92 | $1.82 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest filing — the kind of financial-strength check premium terminals charge for.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $17.2B | $1.2B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $5.1B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $30.3B | $8.2B |
| Total Assets | $82.8B | $31.7B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 0.63× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $17.2B | $1.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $15.3B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8B | $850.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $13.2B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $11.8B | $537.3M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $1.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $11.5B | $720.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $10.3B | $537.3M |
| Q4 25 | — | $5.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $5.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $5.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $6.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $6.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $6.2B |
| Q4 25 | $30.3B | $8.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $29.2B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $27.1B | $7.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $25.6B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $24.5B | $7.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $7.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $21.8B | $7.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.8B | $6.7B |
| Q4 25 | $82.8B | $31.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $77.1B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $75.5B | $31.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $73.2B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $73.4B | $31.5B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $31.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | $67.9B | $31.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $66.3B | $30.8B |
| Q4 25 | — | 0.63× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 0.74× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 0.78× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.86× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 0.89× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.92× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Net income can be massaged; cash flow is harder to fake.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $4.7B | $1.0B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $3.2B | $690.4M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 4.7% | 6.5% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue; lower = less reinvestment burden | 2.3% | 2.9% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit; >1× = earnings back up with cash | 2.34× | 3.55× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $9.0B | $2.1B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $4.7B | $1.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.9B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.5B | $847.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.7B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.3B | $542.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $988.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.0B | $663.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $731.0M | $949.8M |
| Q4 25 | $3.2B | $690.4M | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.9B | — | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.3B | $556.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.6B | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.0B | $201.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $635.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.9B | $321.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-300.0M | $490.1M |
| Q4 25 | 4.7% | 6.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.2% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.7% | 5.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.5% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.2% | 2.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 6.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.3% | 3.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | -0.5% | 5.0% |
| Q4 25 | 2.3% | 2.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.3% | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.8% | 2.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.8% | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 3.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 3.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.8% | 3.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.8% | 4.7% |
| Q4 25 | 2.34× | 3.55× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.48× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.82× | 2.16× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.54× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.81× | 2.76× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 2.64× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.78× | 1.83× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.42× | 2.36× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Sankey diagram of revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company. Charts shown full-width and stacked so both segment hierarchies are readable side-by-side on desktop and mobile.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
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% |
DG
| Consumables | $8.8B | 83% |
| Seasonal | $992.2M | 9% |
| Home Products | $550.7M | 5% |
| Apparel | $281.9M | 3% |
