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COST or DEO or WMT
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) vs. Diageo plc (DEO) vs. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- COST leads year-to-date performance with approximately 15.7% gains, driven by resilient revenue growth and membership trends amid market volatility.
- WMT shows solid YTD returns around 11%, supported by e-commerce expansion and advertising growth, though recent monthly dips reflect broader retail pressures.
- DEO lags with negative YTD performance near -15%, impacted by share price volatility and non-core asset sales like its cricket team stake.
- COST trades at a premium P/E ratio around 51, while WMT is at 45 and DEO at about 17, highlighting valuation differences in consumer staples and retail sectors.
- All three exhibit defensive qualities, but COST and WMT demonstrate stronger relative momentum in recent market activity compared to DEO.
Introduction
This stock comparison evaluates COST, DEO, and WMT—key players in warehouse retail, premium beverages, and mass-market retail. These consumer-focused companies offer insights into defensive sectors amid economic uncertainty, fluctuating consumer spending, and shifting market sentiment. Traders seeking momentum plays may favor recent outperformers, while long-term investors could prioritize stability, growth drivers like e-commerce and memberships, and relative valuations. This analysis highlights their recent performance, business dynamics, and head-to-head contrasts for informed stock comparison decisions in the current environment.
COST Overview and Recent Performance
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) operates membership-based warehouse clubs, emphasizing bulk sales and low-margin, high-volume retail. In recent market activity, COST has demonstrated resilience, with shares advancing around 15.7% year-to-date and trading near $996. Key influences include 9% revenue growth, robust digital sales, and warehouse expansion plans, bolstering investor sentiment despite broader volatility. Membership trends have rebounded, supporting recurring income, while the stock's premium valuation reflects consistent execution in a discount retail landscape.
DEO Overview and Recent Performance
Diageo plc (DEO), a leading producer of premium alcoholic beverages like Johnnie Walker and Guinness, faces shifting consumer preferences and economic pressures. Recent weeks have seen share price volatility, with YTD declines around 15% and prices hovering near $73. Sentiment has been tempered by a downgrade to Hold and the sale of a cricket team stake to a Blackstone-backed group for $1.8 billion, signaling a focus on core operations. While long-term brand strength persists, near-term challenges in discretionary spending have weighed on performance relative to peers.
WMT Overview and Recent Performance
Walmart Inc. (WMT) dominates mass-market retail through supercenters, e-commerce, and advertising. Shares have gained about 11% YTD, closing around $123, buoyed by global e-commerce growth of 27% and advertising up 53% in recent quarters. Expansions like partnerships with Vusion for connected stores and strength in membership income have driven positive momentum, though monthly softness mirrors sector headwinds. Walmart's scale and omnichannel strategy continue to underpin market positioning.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
COST, DEO, and WMT span warehouse clubs, beverages, and supermarkets, with COST and WMT leaning on membership and e-commerce for growth, while DEO relies on premium branding amid premiumization risks. Recent momentum favors COST (YTD +15.7%) over WMT (+11%) and DEO (-15%), reflecting retail resilience versus beverages' sensitivity to spending. Risk factors include WMT's higher debt and scale competition, COST's rich valuation (P/E ~51), and DEO's lower multiple (~17) but volatility exposure. Sector-wise, retail stocks show stronger stability; sentiment tilts toward COST and WMT on digital catalysts, trading value for growth potential.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI currently favors COST due to superior trend consistency, YTD outperformance, and defensive positioning with revenue catalysts like expansions and digital sales. While WMT offers scale advantages and DEO appears undervalued, COST's relative stability and momentum suggest higher probability of near-term upside in volatile conditions.
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 disclaimer. 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).
COST’s FA Score shows that 2 FA rating(s) are green whileDEO’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s), and WMT’s FA Score reflects 2 green FA rating(s).
- COST’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
- DEO’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- WMT’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 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.
COST’s TA Score shows that 7 TA indicator(s) are bullish while DEO’s TA Score has 4 bullish TA indicator(s), and WMT’s TA Score reflects 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- COST’s TA Score: 7 bullish, 4 bearish.
- DEO’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 5 bearish.
- WMT’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 4 bearish.
Price Growth
COST (@Discount Stores) experienced а -1.62% price change this week, while DEO (@Beverages: Alcoholic) price change was +5.63% , and WMT (@Discount Stores) price fluctuated +0.78% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Discount Stores industry was -0.78%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -2.41%, and the average quarterly price growth was +9.75%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Beverages: Alcoholic industry was -0.78%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -6.61%, and the average quarterly price growth was -18.17%.
Reported Earning Dates
COST is expected to report earnings on Jul 29, 2026.
DEO is expected to report earnings on May 06, 2026.
WMT is expected to report earnings on May 14, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Discount Stores (-0.78% 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.
@Beverages: Alcoholic (-0.78% weekly)The alcoholic beverage market includes beer, wine, and spirits. From $230 billion in 2015, the industry has grown to around $250 billion by 2019. In recent years, alcoholic beverage makers have been looking to expand distribution and purchase channels, such as through online stores (e.g. e-commerce platform Drizly) and convenience stores. Anheuser-Busch In Bev and Diageo are major global alcoholic beverage companies, while U.S.-owned companies include Constellation Brands and Brown-Forman Corp. among several others.
| COST | DEO | WMT | |
| Capitalization | 443B | 43.1B | 1.01T |
| EBITDA | 13.7B | 6.39B | 46.5B |
| Gain YTD | 15.944 | -10.224 | 14.020 |
| P/E Ratio | 51.92 | 17.90 | 46.44 |
| Revenue | 280B | 19.8B | 713B |
| Total Cash | 17.2B | 2.69B | N/A |
| Total Debt | 8.1B | 23.5B | 68.4B |
COST | DEO | WMT | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 18 | 4 | 20 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 94 Overvalued | 13 Undervalued | 91 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 11 | 100 | 7 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 31 | 97 | 99 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 36 | 77 | 21 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 69 | 54 | 38 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | n/a | 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.
DEO's Valuation (13) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry is significantly better than the same rating for WMT (91) in the Specialty Stores industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for COST (94) in the Specialty Stores industry. This means that DEO's stock grew significantly faster than WMT’s and significantly faster than COST’s over the last 12 months.
WMT's Profit vs Risk Rating (7) in the Specialty Stores industry is in the same range as COST (11) in the Specialty Stores industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for DEO (100) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry. This means that WMT's stock grew similarly to COST’s and significantly faster than DEO’s over the last 12 months.
COST's SMR Rating (31) in the Specialty Stores industry is significantly better than the same rating for DEO (97) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for WMT (99) in the Specialty Stores industry. This means that COST's stock grew significantly faster than DEO’s and significantly faster than WMT’s over the last 12 months.
WMT's Price Growth Rating (21) in the Specialty Stores industry is in the same range as COST (36) in the Specialty Stores industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for DEO (77) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry. This means that WMT's stock grew similarly to COST’s and somewhat faster than DEO’s over the last 12 months.
WMT's P/E Growth Rating (38) in the Specialty Stores industry is in the same range as DEO (54) in the Beverages Alcoholic industry, and is in the same range as COST (69) in the Specialty Stores industry. This means that WMT's stock grew similarly to DEO’s and similarly to COST’s over the last 12 months.
| COST | DEO | WMT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 35% | 1 day ago 43% | N/A |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 38% | 1 day ago 58% | 1 day ago 32% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 65% | 1 day ago 56% | 1 day ago 65% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 60% | 1 day ago 51% | 1 day ago 77% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 43% | 1 day ago 46% | 1 day ago 55% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 62% | 1 day ago 55% | 1 day ago 53% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 64% | 3 days ago 42% | 3 days ago 55% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 20 days ago 38% | 23 days ago 59% | 23 days ago 33% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 33% | 1 day ago 71% | 1 day ago 37% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 1 day ago 55% | 1 day ago 51% | 1 day ago 30% |
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