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Side-by-side financial comparison of Costco (COST) and McKesson Corporation (MCK). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
McKesson Corporation is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($106.2B vs $67.3B, roughly 1.6× Costco). Costco runs the higher net margin — 3.0% vs 1.1%, a 1.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, McKesson Corporation posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (11.4% vs 8.3%). Costco produced more free cash flow last quarter ($3.2B vs $1.1B). Over the past eight quarters, McKesson Corporation's revenue compounded faster (17.9% CAGR vs 7.9%).
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.
McKesson Corporation is an American publicly traded company that distributes pharmaceuticals and provides health information technology, medical supplies, and health management tools. The company delivers a third of all pharmaceutical products used or consumed in North America and employs over 80,000 employees. With $308.9 billion in 2024 revenue, it is the ninth-largest company by revenue in the United States and the nation's largest health care company.
COST vs MCK — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q3 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $67.3B | $106.2B |
| Net Profit | $2.0B | $1.2B |
| Gross Margin | 13.1% | 3.5% |
| Operating Margin | 3.7% | 1.5% |
| Net Margin | 3.0% | 1.1% |
| Revenue YoY | 8.3% | 11.4% |
| Net Profit YoY | 11.3% | 34.9% |
| EPS (diluted) | $4.50 | $9.59 |
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 | $67.3B | $106.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $86.2B | $103.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $63.2B | $97.8B | ||
| Q1 25 | $63.7B | $90.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $62.2B | $95.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $93.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $58.5B | $79.3B | ||
| Q1 24 | $58.4B | $76.4B |
| Q4 25 | $2.0B | $1.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.6B | $1.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.9B | $784.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.8B | $1.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.8B | $879.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $241.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.7B | $915.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.7B | $791.0M |
| Q4 25 | 13.1% | 3.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 12.9% | 3.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 13.0% | 3.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 12.5% | 4.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 12.9% | 3.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 3.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 12.5% | 4.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | 12.5% | 4.7% |
| Q4 25 | 3.7% | 1.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.9% | 1.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.0% | 1.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.6% | 1.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.5% | 1.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.8% | 1.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.5% | 1.6% |
| Q4 25 | 3.0% | 1.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.0% | 1.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.0% | 0.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.8% | 1.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.9% | 0.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.9% | 1.2% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.0% | 1.0% |
| Q4 25 | $4.50 | $9.59 | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.87 | $8.92 | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.28 | $6.25 | ||
| Q1 25 | $4.02 | $9.90 | ||
| Q4 24 | $4.04 | $6.95 | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $1.87 | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.78 | $7.00 | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.92 | $6.03 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $17.2B | $3.0B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $5.4B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $30.3B | $-1.3B |
| Total Assets | $82.8B | $84.2B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $17.2B | $3.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $15.3B | $4.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8B | $2.4B | ||
| Q1 25 | $13.2B | $5.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $11.8B | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $2.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $11.5B | $2.3B | ||
| Q1 24 | $10.3B | $4.6B |
| Q4 25 | — | $5.4B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $6.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $6.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $4.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $4.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $5.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $5.6B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $5.6B |
| Q4 25 | $30.3B | $-1.3B | ||
| Q3 25 | $29.2B | $-1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $27.1B | $-2.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $25.6B | $-2.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $24.5B | $-3.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $-3.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $21.8B | $-1.8B | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.8B | $-2.0B |
| Q4 25 | $82.8B | $84.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $77.1B | $84.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $75.5B | $81.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $73.2B | $75.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $73.4B | $71.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $72.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | $67.9B | $71.7B | ||
| Q1 24 | $66.3B | $67.4B |
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 | $4.7B | $1.2B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $3.2B | $1.1B |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 4.7% | 1.1% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.3% | 0.1% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 2.34× | 1.04× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $9.0B | $10.0B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $4.7B | $1.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.9B | $2.4B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.5B | $-918.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.7B | $7.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.3B | $-2.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $2.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.0B | $-1.4B | ||
| Q1 24 | $731.0M | $4.1B |
| Q4 25 | $3.2B | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.9B | $2.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.3B | $-1.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.6B | $7.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.0B | $-2.5B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $2.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.9B | $-1.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | $-300.0M | $4.0B |
| Q4 25 | 4.7% | 1.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.2% | 2.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.7% | -1.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.5% | 8.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.2% | -2.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 2.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.3% | -1.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | -0.5% | 5.2% |
| Q4 25 | 2.3% | 0.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.3% | 0.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.8% | 0.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.8% | 0.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 0.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.1% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.8% | 0.1% | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.8% | 0.2% |
| Q4 25 | 2.34× | 1.04× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.48× | 2.18× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.82× | -1.17× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.54× | 6.15× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.81× | -2.71× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 8.71× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.78× | -1.51× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.42× | 5.24× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
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% |
MCK
| North American Pharmaceutical Segment | $88.3B | 83% |
| Oncology And Multispecialty Segment | $13.0B | 12% |
| Medical Surgical Solutions Segment | $3.0B | 3% |
| Prescription Technology Solutions Segment | $1.5B | 1% |
