Costco Builds Momentum on Early Holiday Strength

The holiday shopping season is an important one for retailers, and Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) is one of the first companies to provide a firm reading on how the holidays have gone. Thanks to the unusual way in which it manages its fiscal year, the quarterly results that it just reported included the prime Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend, and that promised to show whether the decision earlier this year to boost the amount of annual membership fees that it charges customers would pay off.

Coming into Thursday's fiscal first-quarter financial report, Costco investors were optimistic about the retailer's prospects, pointing to early sales results that suggested strong performance. Bottom-line numbers were equally impressive, and that was exactly what shareholders wanted to see going as year-end shopping hits its peak. Let's take a closer look at how Costco Wholesale and what's ahead for the retailer.

Image source: Costco.

Source: Fool.com