Which is better, BTI or COST?

On the Buffett-Fit framework, Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) currently grades higher than BTI — 58/100 (C grade) vs 39/100 (D). That said, "better" depends on which framework you trust — BTI wins on none; COST wins on Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Philip Fisher, Peter Lynch, Joel Greenblatt, and Terry Smith. The full pillar breakdown is on this page.

Should I buy BTI or COST?

This page is an educational comparison, not investment advice. Both BTI and COST are graded against the same Buffett 5-pillar framework (moat, earnings durability, management quality, financial health, valuation) plus six other documented investor frameworks. Read the side-by-side breakdown to see which one matches the criteria you care about most — and always do your own research before making any investment decision.

Is BTI better than COST for value investing?

On the Buffett-style value-investing framework, COST currently grades higher — 58/100 vs 39/100, a 19-point gap. The gap is driven by which pillars each stock passes; the table on this page shows moat, durability, management, financial health, and valuation side-by-side.

What's the difference between BTI and COST on Warren Buffett's framework?

Both stocks are evaluated on the same five pillars: economic moat (durable competitive advantage), earnings durability (consistent profitability), management quality (capital allocation), financial health (conservative balance sheet), and valuation (margin of safety). BTI currently scores 39/100 (D grade); COST scores 58/100 (C grade). The "Where each wins" section on this page breaks down which pillar each stock dominates.

Which has the stronger moat, BTI or COST?

Moat strength is one of the five pillars in the Buffett-Fit score on this page. BTI and COST are each scored on ROIC sustainability, gross-margin durability, and qualitative signals like brand strength, switching costs, network effects, and regulatory barriers. The pillar breakdown on this page shows the moat sub-score side-by-side so you can see which one has the more durable competitive advantage.

Which is more undervalued, BTI or COST?

Valuation is one of the five Buffett-Fit pillars on this page. Both stocks are scored on owner-earnings yield, price-to-intrinsic-value vs the underlying compounding rate, and the margin of safety relative to a conservative DCF. The valuation sub-score in the table below tells you which one currently trades at a more attractive price relative to its underlying business quality.

Are BTI and COST both Consumer Defensive stocks?

Yes — both British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BTI) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) operate in the Consumer Defensive sector. That makes this a direct sector-peer comparison, which is the apples-to-apples way to use the Buffett-Fit framework: the score weighs each stock against its sector's specific quality and valuation benchmarks (sector-relative bonus), so the cross-stock comparison isn't distorted by inter-sector base-rate differences.

Is this BTI vs COST comparison investment advice?

No. This page is an educational pattern-match against documented public frameworks (Buffett, Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Greenblatt, Munger, Smith), not personalised investment advice. The scores reflect how closely each stock matches each framework's documented criteria — they are not buy/hold/sell recommendations. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser for personalised advice.

Stock comparison

British American Tobacco p.l.c.

Costco

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

BTI

Market cap

$141.74B

Sector

Consumer Staples

COST

Costco

Market cap

$456.18B

Sector

Consumer Staples

Overall winner

Costco COST

Wins on the combined sum of fit scores across all four strategies. Per-strategy breakdown below.

Fit scores by strategy

Strategy	BTI	COST	Winner
Warren Buffett	39D	58C	COST
Benjamin Graham	37D	74B	COST
Philip Fisher

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	BTI	COST
Market cap	$141.74B	$456.18B
P/E (TTM)	13.7x	54.1x
EV/EBIT	13.7x	43.6x
ROIC (TTM)	8.14%	19.11%
Gross margin	61.35%	12.93%
Net margin	30.23%	2.99%
Revenue CAGR 5y	-0.07%

Where each one wins

The metrics with the biggest gap between the two - sorted so the most decisive edges read first.

BTI leads on

Net margin30.23%vs 2.99%+90%
Dividend yield4.96%vs 0.52%+90%
Gross margin61.35%vs 12.93%+79%
P/E (TTM)13.7xvs 54.1x

More like BTI

BTI vs PM BTI vs MNST BTI vs MO BTI vs CL BTI vs PRDO BTI vs IPAR

More like COST

COST vs PM

Related on invest-like

Strongest Moat Highest ROIC Warren Buffett strategy Economic Moat

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.