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CL or COST or HSY
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Colgate-Palmolive (CL) vs. Costco Wholesale (COST) vs. The Hershey Company (HSY) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- CL demonstrated resilience with Q4 earnings beats, driven by 4.5% organic growth in emerging markets and AI productivity focus, supporting YTD gains around 18-21%.
- COST reported strong Q2 results with 9.2% revenue growth to $69.6 billion and 7.4% comparable sales, fueled by membership fees up 13.6%, amid YTD performance near 16%.
- HSY showed robust salty snacks growth at 28% and positive analyst upgrades, contributing to YTD returns exceeding 23%, despite cocoa cost pressures.
- All three stocks in consumer staples outperformed broader indices recently, with HSY leading YTD momentum, while COST offers scale in retail and CL stability in essentials.
- Recent market activity highlights defensive positioning, with varying valuation sensitivities to input costs and consumer demand.
- AI tools on platforms like Tickeron signal potential in consumer sectors through specialized bots trading related tickers.
Introduction
This stock comparison examines CL (Colgate-Palmolive), COST (Costco Wholesale), and HSY (The Hershey Company), three stalwarts in consumer staples and retail. These companies provide essential goods—from oral care and household products to bulk retail and confectionery—making them relevant for investors seeking stability amid market volatility. Traders focused on relative performance, sector rotation, and momentum may find value in their contrasting growth drivers, recent earnings momentum, and positioning in defensive portfolios. This analysis draws on recent financial results and market data to highlight key differences in stock comparison dynamics.
CL Overview and Recent Performance
Colgate-Palmolive (CL), a global leader in oral care, personal care, home care, and pet nutrition, commands about 41% toothpaste market share worldwide. Operating in over 200 countries, the company focuses on essential products like Colgate toothpaste and Hill’s pet food. In recent market activity, CL shares have shown stability, with year-to-date gains around 18-21% and three-month returns near 23%. Q4 2025 results beat expectations, featuring $5.23 billion in revenue (up 5.8% YoY) and adjusted EPS of $0.95 versus $0.91 estimated, driven by 4.5% organic growth in emerging markets. Management emphasized AI-driven productivity and resilience in macroeconomic challenges, boosting sentiment despite minor weekly dips. Trading around $93-95, the stock reflects steady demand for staples, with gross margins at 60.3% supporting reinvestment.
COST Overview and Recent Performance
Costco Wholesale (COST) operates membership warehouses globally, offering bulk goods across food, electronics, and sundries in over 900 locations. Its model emphasizes low prices, high-volume turnover, and recurring membership fees. Recent performance has been solid, with shares posting YTD returns around 16% and three-month gains over 11%. Fiscal Q2 2026 results topped estimates: revenue reached $69.6 billion (up 9.2% YoY), EPS hit $4.58 against $4.55 expected, and comparable sales rose 7.4% (6.7% adjusted). Membership fees surged 13.6% to $1.36 billion, underscoring loyalty amid digitally-enabled sales growth of 22.6%. Sentiment remains positive on resilient demand and tariff refunds enhancing pricing power, though shares trade at premium multiples near $980-1000, reflecting scale advantages.
HSY Overview and Recent Performance
The Hershey Company (HSY), a confectionery giant headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, produces iconic brands like Hershey’s, Reese’s, and Kit Kat, alongside salty snacks and pantry items sold in 65+ countries. Recent weeks have seen strong momentum, with YTD returns exceeding 23% and quarterly gains around 30%. Salty snacks sales jumped 28%, supporting retail demand amid analyst upgrades and price target hikes. Q4 results featured EPS beats and forecasts above estimates, despite cocoa pressures, with net sales up 4.4% to $11.69 billion. Shares around $225 reflect valuation debates but positive shifts from cost relief and portfolio expansion, positioning HSY favorably in consumer indulgent categories.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron’s Trending AI Robots page features a curated selection of over 25 high-performing AI trading bots from its library of hundreds that trade thousands of tickers across stocks, ETFs, and crypto. These bots are dynamically highlighted based on AI analysis of current market conditions, showcasing top performers with annualized returns from +14% to +218%, win rates of 52-95%, and profit factors up to 25.83. Diverse strategies include trend-following, volatility trading, dip-buying, and hedging across timeframes like 5-minute to 62-day holds. While no bots focus solely on CL, COST, or HSY, consumer staples exposure appears in multi-ticker bots (e.g., one with COST, achieving +20.76% return and 70% win rate). Explore these for insights into sector momentum and consider subscribing to align with prevailing trends.
Head-to-Head Comparison
CL, COST, and HSY span consumer staples, blending essentials stability with retail scale. Business models differ: CL’s branded CPG focus yields high margins (60%+ gross) via global oral care dominance, contrasting COST’s low-margin (3-4%) warehouse volume play reliant on memberships. HSY balances confectionery pricing power with snacks diversification amid commodity swings. Growth drivers include COST’s 9%+ sales expansion and HSY’s 28% salty snacks surge, versus CL’s emerging markets organic gains. Recent momentum favors HSY (23%+ YTD) over COST (16%) and CL (18-21%). Risks: input costs pressure HSY, membership churn for COST, competition for CL. Valuations are elevated (PE 36-50x), with COST most sensitive to rates; sentiment tilts defensive on staples exposure.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI currently leans toward HSY based on superior recent momentum (23%+ YTD), salty snacks catalysts, and analyst upgrades amid cost relief, offering probabilistic edge in consumer staples rotation. COST follows for trend consistency and membership stability, while CL provides relative positioning in essentials. Factors like volatility and sector bots trading peers reinforce this outlook without guarantees.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full Disclaimers and Limitations.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
CL’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileCOST’s FA Score has 2 green FA rating(s), and HSY’s FA Score reflects 1 green FA rating(s).
- CL’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- COST’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
- HSY’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
CL’s TA Score shows that 6 TA indicator(s) are bullish while COST’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s), and HSY’s TA Score reflects 4 bullish TA indicator(s).
- CL’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 3 bearish.
- COST’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
- HSY’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 4 bearish.
Price Growth
CL (@Household/Personal Care) experienced а +1.74% price change this week, while COST (@Discount Stores) price change was +0.14% , and HSY (@Food: Specialty/Candy) price fluctuated -4.78% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Household/Personal Care industry was +0.96%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +3.95%, and the average quarterly price growth was -8.44%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Discount Stores industry was +2.34%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +2.71%, and the average quarterly price growth was +7.10%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Food: Specialty/Candy industry was -2.68%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -2.45%, and the average quarterly price growth was +1.01%.
Reported Earning Dates
CL is expected to report earnings on May 01, 2026.
COST is expected to report earnings on Jul 29, 2026.
HSY is expected to report earnings on Apr 30, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Household/Personal Care (+0.96% weekly)Household/Personal Care companies sell products for home cleaning and/or personal hygiene and grooming purposes. Products of this industry include detergents, shampoos, soaps, cosmetics, fabric conditioners and infant care fragrances. Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Estee Lauder and Colgate-Palmolive are some of the biggest names in the business. A lot of the products become a necessary part of people’s daily routine, and therefore the industry is relatively less vulnerable to macroeconomic downturns. At the same time, product quality, consumer safety, and ease of use are extremely critical factors for a company to survive competition and earn recognition in this industry.
@Discount Stores (+2.34% weekly)Companies in the discount stores industry specialize in offering substantial discounts on a vast array of retail products. Some companies in this industry also operate general merchandise warehouse clubs. Products sold at discount stores are typically similar to those of any department store, but the pricing of the goods is generally much lower (and hence the name “discount”). Think Dollar General Corporation, Dollar Tree, Inc. and Five Below, Inc. Many discount stores target low-income households and/or price-sensitive consumers as their potential market. Discount stores’ profitability could hinge on factors like competitive pricing, sufficient locations, healthy revenue per square foot, and effective advertisement. These store operators could have an edge over other retailers during financial crises or recessions, when many consumers could be looking for less expensive alternatives.
@Food: Specialty/Candy (-2.68% weekly)A specialty/candy manufacturer specializes in one or more of the following: chocolate, candies, pasta, condiments, seasonings, among other items. Hershey Company, McCormick & Company and J.M. Smucker Company are some of the major firms in this segment. Demand for this industry’s products comes from both institutions/restaurants as well as households.
| CL | COST | HSY | |
| Capitalization | 68.8B | 444B | 39B |
| EBITDA | 3.96B | 14.1B | 1.94B |
| Gain YTD | 9.258 | 16.109 | 6.547 |
| P/E Ratio | 32.63 | 52.00 | 44.38 |
| Revenue | 20.4B | 286B | 11.7B |
| Total Cash | 1.29B | 18.2B | 926M |
| Total Debt | 8.55B | 8.17B | 5.74B |
CL | COST | HSY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 65 | 18 | 5 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 98 Overvalued | 94 Overvalued | 34 Fair valued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 65 | 11 | 71 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 5 | 32 | 46 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 59 | 54 | 59 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 43 | 73 | 7 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
HSY's Valuation (34) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is somewhat better than the same rating for COST (94) in the Specialty Stores industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for CL (98) in the Household Or Personal Care industry. This means that HSY's stock grew somewhat faster than COST’s and somewhat faster than CL’s over the last 12 months.
COST's Profit vs Risk Rating (11) in the Specialty Stores industry is somewhat better than the same rating for CL (65) in the Household Or Personal Care industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for HSY (71) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry. This means that COST's stock grew somewhat faster than CL’s and somewhat faster than HSY’s over the last 12 months.
CL's SMR Rating (5) in the Household Or Personal Care industry is in the same range as COST (32) in the Specialty Stores industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for HSY (46) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry. This means that CL's stock grew similarly to COST’s and somewhat faster than HSY’s over the last 12 months.
COST's Price Growth Rating (54) in the Specialty Stores industry is in the same range as CL (59) in the Household Or Personal Care industry, and is in the same range as HSY (59) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry. This means that COST's stock grew similarly to CL’s and similarly to HSY’s over the last 12 months.
HSY's P/E Growth Rating (7) in the Food Specialty Or Candy industry is somewhat better than the same rating for CL (43) in the Household Or Personal Care industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for COST (73) in the Specialty Stores industry. This means that HSY's stock grew somewhat faster than CL’s and significantly faster than COST’s over the last 12 months.
| CL | COST | HSY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 46% | 2 days ago 40% | 2 days ago 53% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 45% | 2 days ago 68% | 2 days ago 66% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 47% | 2 days ago 47% | N/A |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 44% | 2 days ago 56% | N/A |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 46% | 2 days ago 65% | 2 days ago 55% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 45% | 2 days ago 62% | 2 days ago 53% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 44% | 2 days ago 63% | 10 days ago 64% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 6 days ago 43% | 5 days ago 38% | 3 days ago 56% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 45% | 2 days ago 43% | 2 days ago 70% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 47% | 2 days ago 51% | 2 days ago 57% |
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