Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) vs NIKE, Inc. (NKE) Stock Comparison

Compare Stocks › COST vs NKE

COST

Costco Wholesale Corporation

$974.78

NKE

NIKE, Inc.

$53.44

Rewards

COST

★Costco Wholesale Corporation has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
★Costco Wholesale Corporation scores 96/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
★Free cash flow has grown at a 30.8% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.

NKE

★NIKE, Inc. has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
★NIKE, Inc. scores 72/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
★Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.

Risks

COST

⚠Gross margin of 12.9% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
⚠Despite buyback spending, shares outstanding increased in 3 out of 4 years — stock-based compensation is offsetting repurchases.
⚠FCF yield of 1.5% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.

NKE

⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 9.6% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.

Key Valuation Metrics

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COST

NKE

Valuation

$6.69B

Free Cash Flow

$2.58B

1.55%

FCF Yield

3.26%

50.77

Trailing P/E

31.25

43.44

Forward P/E

23.24

Quality & Moat

20.95%

ROIC

11.73%

25.24%

ROE

22.85%

12.93%

Gross Margin

41.13%

3.65

PEG Ratio

N/A

Balance Sheet Safety

0.26

Debt / Equity

0.80

N/A

Interest Coverage

N/A

-0.74

Net Debt / EBITDA

0.77

0.53%

Dividend Yield

3.07%

COST: 5Ties: 1NKE: 5

COSTNKE

Historical Fundamentals

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COST

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

NKE

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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COST

$19.41

created per $1 retained over 3 years

Exceptional Value Creator

Σ Retained

$9.28B

Δ Market Cap

+$180.14B

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

NKE

$-11.96

created per $1 retained over 3 years

Market Cap Declined

Σ Retained

$7.51B

Δ Market Cap

$-89.79B

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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COST

111.4% Overvalued

Price is 111.4% above estimated fair value

Current Price: $974.78

Strongly undervalued

Fairly valued

Strongly overvalued

Fair Value: $461.18

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

NKE

65.8% Margin of Safety

Price is 65.8% below estimated fair value

Current Price: $53.44

Strongly undervalued

Fairly valued

Strongly overvalued

Fair Value: $156.11

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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COST

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $975?

+20.8%

Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth

Standard FCF implies +23.4%

The market implies +20.8% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +23.4%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

NKE

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $53?

+11.0%

Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth

Standard FCF implies +14.0%

The market implies +11.0% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +14.0%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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COST

96/100

Wide Moat

70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. ROIC Consistency is the standout factor.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

NKE

72/100

Wide Moat

70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. ROIC Consistency is the standout factor.

Forensic Accounting

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COST

-2.65

Unlikely Manipulator

Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

NKE

-2.36

Unlikely Manipulator

Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Ownership Breakdown

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COST

Insiders 0.2%Institutions 72.7%Retail & Other 27.2%

No. of Institutional Holders4,997

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

NKE

Insiders 1.5%Institutions 83.5%Retail & Other 15.0%

No. of Institutional Holders2,819

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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COST

Buys (3M)

Buys (12M)

No open market insider purchases found.

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

NKE

Buys (3M)

Buys (12M)

Total value (12M): $5.96M

HILL ELLIOTT

Chief Executive Officer

$1.00M

@ $61.10 · 2025-12-29

SWAN ROBERT HOLMES

Director

$500,080

@ $57.54 · 2025-12-22

COOK TIMOTHY D

Director

$2.95M

@ $58.97 · 2025-12-22

KNUDSTORP JORGEN VIG

Director

$1.00M

@ $62.09 · 2025-11-07

SWAN ROBERT HOLMES

Director

$502,756

@ $58.46 · 2025-04-04

ROGERS JOHN W JR

Director

$191,624

@ $76.65 · 2024-12-27

SWAN ROBERT HOLMES

Director

$226,516

@ $77.02 · 2024-06-28

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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COST

Sells (3M)

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $28.85M

ADAMO CLAUDINE

Officer

$732,205

@ $1003.02 · 2026-03-09

JONES TERESA A

Officer

$838,318

@ $986.26 · 2026-01-21

DECKER SUSAN LYNNE

Director

$437,390

@ $955.00 · 2026-01-16

KLAUER JAMES C

Officer

$1.41M

@ $939.00 · 2026-01-14

POLIT JAVIER

Officer

$2.26M

@ $866.38 · 2025-12-30

WILCOX WILLIAM RICHARD

Officer

$2.23M

@ $930.13 · 2025-11-07

ADAMO CLAUDINE

Officer

$2.53M

@ $935.68 · 2025-10-24

BARBRE TIFFANY MARIE

Divisional Officer

$1.16M

@ $934.91 · 2025-10-24

FRATES CATON

Officer

$1.40M

@ $910.02 · 2025-09-29

JONES TERESA A

Officer

$595,230

@ $992.05 · 2025-08-20

RUBANENKO YORAM B.

Officer

$3.90M

@ $974.96 · 2025-07-14

DECKER SUSAN LYNNE

Director

$536,058

@ $980.00 · 2025-06-18

CALLANS PATRICK J

Officer

$3.01M

@ $1002.77 · 2025-06-09

RIEL PIERRE

Officer

$2.03M

@ $1014.15 · 2025-06-06

KLAUER JAMES C

Officer

$3.92M

@ $981.07 · 2025-04-17

MILLERCHIP GARY

Officer

$1.03M

@ $940.01 · 2025-03-27

ADAMO CLAUDINE

Officer

$830,304

@ $922.56 · 2025-03-24

FRATES CATON

Officer

$765,213

@ $900.25 · 2025-03-18

VACHRIS ROLAND MICHAEL

Chief Executive Officer

$3.35M

@ $931.00 · 2025-03-11

GALANTI RICHARD ALAN

Officer and Director

$1.27M

@ $894.97 · 2024-10-24

JONES TERESA A

Officer

$717,236

@ $896.54 · 2024-10-23

RIEL PIERRE

Officer

$1.79M

@ $896.71 · 2024-10-15

CALLANS PATRICK J

Officer

$2.23M

@ $893.94 · 2024-09-30

ADAMO CLAUDINE

Officer

$2.84M

@ $888.99 · 2024-09-30

FRATES CATON

Officer

$1.50M

@ $883.35 · 2024-09-30

DECKER SUSAN LYNNE

Director

$543,430

@ $876.50 · 2024-08-15

GALANTI RICHARD ALAN

Officer and Director

$868,962

@ $868.96 · 2024-08-15

JONES TERESA A

Officer

$3,330

@ $832.50 · 2024-07-25

DENMAN KENNETH D

Director

$298,036

@ $851.53 · 2024-07-15

HINES DANIEL M

Officer

$2.54M

@ $846.37 · 2024-07-15

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

NKE

Sells (3M)

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $30.93M

LEINWAND ROBERT

Officer

$565,021

@ $62.33 · 2026-02-12

PARKER MARK G

Officer and Director

$5.58M

@ $64.80 · 2025-11-14

HEINLE TREASURE

Officer

$306,461

@ $71.27 · 2025-10-06

LEINWAND ROBERT

Officer

$52,367

@ $75.13 · 2025-10-02

LEINWAND ROBERT

Officer

$76,058

@ $74.64 · 2025-09-05

PARKER MARK G

Officer and Director

$6.54M

@ $75.93 · 2025-08-14

MCCARTNEY PHILIP

Officer

$244,138

@ $77.21 · 2025-08-13

LEINWAND ROBERT

Officer

$123,152

@ $74.91 · 2025-08-05

PARKER MARK G

Officer and Director

$7.95M

@ $72.29 · 2025-07-16

PARKER MARK G

Officer and Director

$9.49M

@ $62.05 · 2025-05-14

NIELSEN JOHANNA

Officer

$7,978

@ $57.81 · 2025-04-24

PARKER MARK G

Officer and Director

$12.36M

@ $72.83 · 2025-02-14

LEINWAND ROBERT

Officer

$328,082

@ $72.81 · 2025-02-13

O NEILL HEIDI

Officer

$1.01M

@ $71.18 · 2025-02-11

PARKER MARK G

Officer and Director

$3.46M

@ $76.64 · 2024-11-14

PARKER MARK G

Officer and Director

$4.09M

@ $78.00 · 2024-08-14

FRIEND MATTHEW

Chief Financial Officer

$394,281

@ $72.88 · 2024-08-07

PARKER MARK G

Officer and Director

$8.03M

@ $72.97 · 2024-07-18

FRIEND MATTHEW

Chief Financial Officer

$889,185

@ $95.10 · 2024-06-05

PARKER MARK G

Officer and Director

$15.68M

@ $93.14 · 2024-05-14

NIELSEN JOHANNA

Officer

$26,406

@ $93.64 · 2024-05-09

MATHESON MONIQUE SUZETTE

Officer

$4.24M

@ $94.16 · 2024-05-07

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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COST

😐Neutral(56/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

NKE

😨Fear(28/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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COST

⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (56)

NKE

⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (28)

View COST Full Analysis View NKE Full Analysis