When you look at the earnings statement of most retailers, there's just one item at the top, labeled sales or revenue. Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) has two items listed on the revenue front, and this completely changes the way investors should be looking at the company's performance.

Here's why Costco's sales are less important than you might think.

The income statement is a key tool for investors as they analyze a company's performance. Normally, the revenue part of the story (the top line) is pretty simple.

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Source Fool.com