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Side-by-side financial comparison of Costco (COST) and Meta Platforms (META). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Costco is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($67.3B vs $59.9B, roughly 1.1× Meta Platforms). Meta Platforms runs the higher net margin — 38.0% vs 3.0%, a 35.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Meta Platforms posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (23.8% vs 8.3%). Meta Platforms produced more free cash flow last quarter ($14.8B vs $3.2B). Over the past eight quarters, Meta Platforms's revenue compounded faster (28.2% 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.
Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Threads and Manus. The company also operates an advertising network for its own sites and third parties; as of 2023, advertising accounted for 97.8 percent of its total revenue. Meta has been described as a Big Tech company.
COST vs META — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $67.3B | $59.9B |
| Net Profit | $2.0B | $22.8B |
| Gross Margin | 13.1% | 81.8% |
| Operating Margin | 3.7% | 41.3% |
| Net Margin | 3.0% | 38.0% |
| Revenue YoY | 8.3% | 23.8% |
| Net Profit YoY | 11.3% | 9.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $4.50 | $8.87 |
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 | $59.9B | ||
| Q3 25 | $86.2B | $51.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $63.2B | $47.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $63.7B | $42.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $62.2B | $48.4B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $40.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | $58.5B | $39.1B | ||
| Q1 24 | $58.4B | $36.5B |
| Q4 25 | $2.0B | $22.8B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.6B | $2.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.9B | $18.3B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.8B | $16.6B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.8B | $20.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $15.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.7B | $13.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.7B | $12.4B |
| Q4 25 | 13.1% | 81.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 12.9% | 82.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 13.0% | 82.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 12.5% | 82.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 12.9% | 81.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 81.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 12.5% | 81.3% | ||
| Q1 24 | 12.5% | 81.8% |
| Q4 25 | 3.7% | 41.3% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.9% | 40.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.0% | 43.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.6% | 41.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.5% | 48.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 42.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.8% | 38.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.5% | 37.9% |
| Q4 25 | 3.0% | 38.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.0% | 5.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.0% | 38.6% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.8% | 39.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.9% | 43.1% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 38.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.9% | 34.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 3.0% | 33.9% |
| Q4 25 | $4.50 | $8.87 | ||
| Q3 25 | $5.87 | $1.05 | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.28 | $7.14 | ||
| Q1 25 | $4.02 | $6.43 | ||
| Q4 24 | $4.04 | $7.96 | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $6.03 | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.78 | $5.16 | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.92 | $4.71 |
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 | $81.6B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $58.7B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $30.3B | $217.2B |
| Total Assets | $82.8B | $366.0B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 0.27× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $17.2B | $81.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $15.3B | $44.4B | ||
| Q2 25 | $14.8B | $47.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $13.2B | $70.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $11.8B | $77.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $70.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $11.5B | $58.1B | ||
| Q1 24 | $10.3B | $58.1B |
| Q4 25 | — | $58.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $28.8B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $28.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
| Q4 25 | $30.3B | $217.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $29.2B | $194.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $27.1B | $195.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $25.6B | $185.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $24.5B | $182.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $164.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $21.8B | $156.8B | ||
| Q1 24 | $20.8B | $149.5B |
| Q4 25 | $82.8B | $366.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $77.1B | $303.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $75.5B | $294.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $73.2B | $280.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $73.4B | $276.1B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $256.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | $67.9B | $230.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $66.3B | $222.8B |
| Q4 25 | — | 0.27× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 0.16× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 0.18× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | — |
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 | $36.2B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $3.2B | $14.8B |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 4.7% | 24.8% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 2.3% | 35.7% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 2.34× | 1.59× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $9.0B | $46.1B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $4.7B | $36.2B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.9B | $30.0B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.5B | $25.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.7B | $24.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.3B | $28.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $24.7B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.0B | $19.4B | ||
| Q1 24 | $731.0M | $19.2B |
| Q4 25 | $3.2B | $14.8B | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.9B | $11.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.3B | $9.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.6B | $11.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.0B | $13.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $16.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.9B | $11.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $-300.0M | $12.8B |
| Q4 25 | 4.7% | 24.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.2% | 21.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.7% | 19.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.5% | 26.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 3.2% | 28.0% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 40.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 3.3% | 28.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | -0.5% | 35.2% |
| Q4 25 | 2.3% | 35.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 2.3% | 36.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.8% | 34.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.8% | 30.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.0% | 29.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 20.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.8% | 20.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.8% | 17.6% |
| Q4 25 | 2.34× | 1.59× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.48× | 11.07× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.82× | 1.39× | ||
| Q1 25 | 1.54× | 1.44× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.81× | 1.34× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.58× | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.78× | 1.44× | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.42× | 1.56× |
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% |
META
| Advertising | $58.1B | 97% |
| Reality Labs | $955.0M | 2% |
| Service Other | $801.0M | 1% |
