Home Compare COST vs SYY
Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Costco Wholesale vs Sysco: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

The structural profiles are close, with Costco Wholesale carrying a narrow edge on growth. Sysco still has the edge on valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup broadly confirms the structural lead — Costco Wholesale holds the more constructive position. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Costco Wholesale's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The clearest separation starts in growth, but stability adds another real layer to the result.

Trajectory Similarity
0.82
Similar
Peer-set rank: #6
within Costco Wholesale Corporation's functional peer set

This comparison is anchored in long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

This level of similarity signals a strong structural match, even though some dimensions still separate the two companies.

The strongest overlap appears in operating margin level and capital structure.

Similarity drivers
operating margin levelcapital structure
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
COST
Costco Wholesale Corporation
63
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
SYY
Sysco Corporation
58
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: COST vs SYY Profitability 81 66 Stability 61 42 Valuation 31 79 Growth 86 32 COST SYY
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +54
#2 Valuation +48
#3 Stability +19
#4 Profitability +15
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for COST and SYY Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer COSTSYY Relative valuation Structural strength

The setup splits cleanly: structure favours Costco Wholesale Corporation, while the price setup favours Sysco Corporation.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where COST and SYY each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY COST Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 40 pct gap SYY Neutral · near norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 59th
Today SYY sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (59th percentile), while COST sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, SYY is at a historically more favourable entry position than COST. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Costco Wholesale Corporation ranks near the top of the group on growth; Sysco Corporation sits in the weaker half.
Valuation
The same broad pattern appears on valuation: Sysco Corporation ranks near the top of the group, while Costco Wholesale Corporation stays in the weaker half.
Growth — Dominant Gap
COST
86
SYY
32
Gap+54in favour of COST

Earnings growth is one contributing factor within the growth lead.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for Sysco, with a forward P/E that is 32 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

Growth settles the comparison, while pricing and valuation keep the broader setup from looking fully aligned.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the COST vs SYY comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how COST and SYY each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.