Costco vs Dollar General
Costco reported revenue of $303.2 billion in fiscal 2026, 7.1 times Dollar General's $42.7 billion in fiscal 2025. Costco's revenue grew 10.1% in its latest year, and Dollar General's grew 5.2%. Costco had an operating margin of 3.9%, against 5.2% at Dollar General. Free cash flow was $9.4 billion at Costco and $2.4 billion at Dollar General. Their fiscal years end in different months (August 30 and January 30), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Costco | Dollar General | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2026, Aug 30, 2026 | FY2025, Jan 30, 2026 |
| Revenue | $303.2B | $42.7B |
| Revenue growth | 10.1% | 5.2% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 9.1% | 4.8% |
| Gross margin | 12.8% | 30.7% |
| Operating margin | 3.9% | 5.2% |
| Net margin | 3.0% | 3.5% |
| Free cash flow | $9.4B | $2.4B |
| Free cash flow margin | 3.1% | 5.6% |
| Return on capital | 40.7% | 13.8% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | −1.0x | 1.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.3B | $520M |
| Change in diluted share count | −0.1% | 0.4% |
| Last close | $1,005.16 | $128.42 |
| P/E at the last close | 48.4× | 16.7× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $14.6 million | sold $9.0 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 of 9 | 7 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
CostcoDollar General
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
CostcoDollar General
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
CostcoDollar General
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Costco and Dollar General pages.