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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Costco Wholesale vs US Foods Holding: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Costco Wholesale holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across profitability and growth. US Foods 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 Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The clearest separation starts in profitability, but growth adds another real layer to the result. Costco Wholesale Corporation leads by 24 points on the overall comparison score.

Trajectory Similarity
0.82
Similar
Peer-set rank: #5
within Costco Wholesale Corporation's functional peer set

These two companies are linked by measured long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

A solid similarity means the pair shares a clearly comparable long-term financial profile, even if individual dimensions still differ.

The clearest structural overlap shows up in revenue stability and margin consistency.

Similarity drivers
revenue stabilitymargin consistency
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
64
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
USFD
US Foods Holding Corp.
40
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

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 USFD Profitability 81 22 Stability 61 35 Valuation 33 61 Growth 86 40 COST USFD
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +59
#2 Growth +46
#3 Valuation +28
#4 Stability +26
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for COST and USFD Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer COSTUSFD Relative valuation Structural strength

Costco Wholesale Corporation is stronger, but the price setup still looks more supportive for US Foods Holding Corp..

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY COST Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 6 pct gap USFD Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 93rd
COST (99th percentile) and USFD (93rd percentile) both sit in the upper portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
Costco Wholesale Corporation ranks near the top of the group on profitability; US Foods Holding Corp. sits in the weaker half.
Growth
On growth, the same pattern holds: both are strong, but Costco Wholesale Corporation still leads clearly.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
COST
81
USFD
22
Gap+59in favour of COST

Capital efficiency adds support, with a 43-point ROIC advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

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

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both profitability and growth — though valuation still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how COST and USFD 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.