Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) takes some of the drama out of its quarterly earnings report releases by putting out sales numbers every month.
That tends to lessen the surprises, because while there can be dramatic month-to-month shifts in some businesses, the nature of how the warehouse club operates makes that less likely. Costco succeeds or fails based on long-term membership trends, and while two months of sales don’t directly speak to renewal or signup rates, they offer a strong hint.