Costco (NASDAQ: COST) has been a positive force in shareholders' portfolios over the past several years. The warehouse retailer thrived through every phase of the pandemic and its aftermath, first handling record customer traffic when shoppers were bulking up on essentials and then posting fantastic sales gains as incomes soared. Costco endured a smaller growth hangover than its peers during the post-restrictions period, too.

These wins underscore Costco's valuable competitive assets, like its price leadership, strong brand, and excellent customer loyalty. Let's look at where these factors could steer the stock over the next several years.

Costco is a retailer, and that means investors will want to follow comparable-store sales for signs that the business is on the right track. There's no cause for concern here. Sure, comps decelerated in fiscal 2023. But the slowdown was modest (gains fell to 3% from 5%) and there's already a rebound in the works. Comps were up 5% in the 22 weeks that ended in early February, management recently announced.

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Source Fool.com