Will Costco Surprise Investors on Thursday?

Costco (NASDAQ: COST) has some high expectations to try to meet in just a few days. The warehouse retailer's stock has trounced the market in the weeks leading up to Thursday's earnings report, which sets up a potentially volatile trading week ahead.

The chain erased some of the mystery about that report by releasing monthly sales trend data on Dec. 1 that showed solid growth momentum at the start of the holiday shopping season. But the full earnings picture, including profitability and membership metrics, will be part of Costco's quarterly report on Dec. 9.

Let's look at the metrics worth following in Thursday's announcement.

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Source Fool.com