Sifting through countless of stocks in the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.
Read on to learn how Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.
About Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc.
Maplebear Inc., doing business as Instacart, operates as a technology and enablement partner for the grocery industry in the United States and internationally. The company offers Instacart Marketplace which helps retailers serve customers’ needs by supporting fulfillment options, shopping occasions, and categories; Instacart Enterprise platform, an end-to-end technology solution for retailers across all aspects of business; and Instacart Ads, enables brands to learn more about general consumer behavior from discovery to purchase, offering insights about how to optimize advertising spend. It also provides advertising solutions, including sponsored product ads, display ads, coupons, and brand pages; and software-as-a-service. The company’s services can be provided through company’s mobile application or website. Maplebear Inc., was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
PriceSmart, Inc. owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. The company provides basic and private label merchandise and consumable and non-consumable products under the Member’s Selection brand, including groceries, cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids, meat, produce, deli, seafood, and poultry. It also offers electronics, large and small appliances, automotive, hardware, sporting goods, seasonal products, clothing, domestic, and home furnishing products. In addition, the company offers food and bakery services, as well as health services, such as optical, audiology, and pharmacy. Further, it operates an e-commerce platform, as well as offers curbside pickup and delivery services. PriceSmart, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
Latest Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail and Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart, Inc. Stock News
As of May 13, 2026, Maplebear Inc. had a $9.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail median of $4.2 million. Maplebear Inc.’s stock is down 12.3% in 2026, up 3.8% in the previous five trading days and down 8.39% in the past year.
Currently, Maplebear Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 22.4. Maplebear Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.9 billion with a 12.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 13.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.029 per share for the current fiscal year. Maplebear Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.
As of May 13, 2026, PriceSmart, Inc. had a $4.8 billion market cap, putting it in the 67th percentile of all stocks. PriceSmart, Inc.’s stock is up 29.8% in 2026, up 1.7% in the previous five trading days and up 52.19% in the past year.
Currently, PriceSmart, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 31.2. PriceSmart, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $5.5 billion with a 2.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.480 per share for the current fiscal year. PriceSmart, Inc. currently has a 0.9% dividend yield.
How We Compare Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc. Stock Grades
Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.
AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.
Learn more about A+ Investor here!
Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions
Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc. Stock Value Grades
| Company | Ticker | Value |
| Maplebear Inc. | CART | C |
| PriceSmart, Inc. | PSMT | D |
Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.
Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.
AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.
Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.
Maplebear Inc. has a Value Score of 52, which is Average.
PriceSmart, Inc. has a Value Score of 34, which is Expensive.
The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner
Neither Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.
Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc.’s Quality Grades
| Company | Ticker | Quality |
| Maplebear Inc. | CART | A |
| PriceSmart, Inc. | PSMT | B |
Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.
The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.
The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.
Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.
Maplebear Inc. has a Quality Score of 98, which is Very Strong.
PriceSmart, Inc. has a Quality Score of 71, which is Strong.
The Quality Grade Winner: Maplebear Inc.
As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Maplebear Inc. has a better overall quality grade than PriceSmart, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Maplebear Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.
Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc.’s Momentum Grades
| Company | Ticker | Momentum |
| Maplebear Inc. | CART | C |
| PriceSmart, Inc. | PSMT | B |
Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.
Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.
Maplebear Inc. has a Momentum Score of 48, which is Average.
PriceSmart, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 71, which is Strong.
The Momentum Grade Winner: PriceSmart, Inc.
As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, PriceSmart, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Maplebear Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, PriceSmart, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.
Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions
Other Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc. Grades
In addition to Momentum, Quality and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.
Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).
Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.
These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.
So, Which Is the Better Investment, Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart or Inc. Stock?
Overall, Maplebear Inc. stock has a Value Score of 52, Momentum Score of 48 and Quality Score of 98.
PriceSmart, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 34, Momentum Score of 71 and Quality Score of 71.
Comparing Maplebear Inc., PriceSmart and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.
Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.
A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.
AAII Disclaimer
We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.
Included With AAII Platinum
at only 6.9%
Gain Since Inception. Data as of 12/31/2024.
769.3% Stock Superstars Portfolio Total Return Since Inception
U.S. Index ETF (IYY)
SSR Group 3 O'Shaughnessy portfolio has a 411.2% gain since inception performance compared to IYY at only 119.1%% Performance as of 11/29/24.
FREE REPORT
BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $2
Get access to powerful investment discovery tools and a wealth of investment education to help you achieve your financial goals.