COST vs DG: Costco Wholesale and Dollar General compared
The short version
From the latest prices and each company's SEC filings. Who's ahead on each measure, not which to buy.
- Costco Wholesale is the larger company, worth $426.6B, about 15.1 times Dollar General.
- Costco Wholesale grew revenue faster over the last year (+10.1% vs +5.2%).
- Dollar General keeps more of each dollar of revenue as operating profit (5.6% vs 3.9%).
- On earnings, Dollar General is the cheaper stock (18.7x vs 45.6x).
- Costco Wholesale's price assumes faster free cash flow growth: about 16% a year, against -2% for Dollar General (reverse DCF).
Side by side
The stronger figure is shaded where higher (or, for valuation multiples, lower) reads as better. How the implied growth works.
| Measure | COST | DG |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $426.6B | $28.2B |
| Share price | $946.92 | $127.23 |
| Revenue (last fiscal year) | $303.2B | $42.7B |
| Free cash flow (last fiscal year) | $9.4B | $2.4B |
| Revenue growth, last year | +10.1% | +5.2% |
| Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years | +7.5% | +5.7% |
| Operating margin | 3.9% | 5.6% |
| Net margin | 3.0% | 3.9% |
| Return on equity | 25.8% | 18.3% |
| P/E (trailing) | 45.6x | 18.7x |
| Price / free cash flow | 54.4x | 11.8x |
| EV / EBITDA | 26.5x | 13.6x |
| FCF growth the price implies | 15.8% | -2.0% |
| Dividend yield | 0.55% | 1.8% |
| Debt / equity | 1.49x | 2.46x |
| Fundamental grade | C | C |
| Superinvestors holding it | 8 | 6 |
| Insider purchases, last 12 months | 10 | 0 |
Results from SEC filings
Revenue and free cash flow by fiscal year, from each company's 10-K filings.
Costco Wholesale
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $227.0B | $3.5B | 3.4% |
| 2023 | $242.3B | $6.7B | 3.3% |
| 2024 | $254.5B | $6.6B | 3.6% |
| 2025 | $275.2B | $7.8B | 3.8% |
| 2026 | $303.2B | $9.4B | 3.9% |
Dollar General
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $34.2B | $1.8B | 9.4% |
| 2023 | $37.8B | $424M | 8.8% |
| 2024 | $38.7B | $692M | 6.3% |
| 2025 | $40.6B | $1.7B | 4.2% |
| 2026 | $42.7B | $2.4B | 5.2% |
Where the revenue comes from
Costco Wholesale · by products, 2026
Net sales$297.2B98%
Membership fees$5.9B2%
Dollar General · by products, 2026
Consumables$35.1B82%
Seasonal$4.3B10%
Home products$2.2B5%
Apparel$1.1B3%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
Open COST in InvestinglyQuestions
Which is bigger, Costco Wholesale or Dollar General?
Costco Wholesale (COST), at $426.6B against $28.2B.
Is COST or DG cheaper?
By trailing P/E, Dollar General (18.7x) is cheaper than Costco Wholesale (45.6x). A lower multiple can also mean the market expects less growth.
Which grows faster, COST or DG?
Costco Wholesale: revenue grew +10.1% over the last year, against +5.2%.
Prices and ratios as of the last daily update; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice.