Costco Wholesale's Q2 Earnings Preview

Costco Wholesale COST announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, March 7. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Thursday's Q2 earnings announcement.

Earnings and Revenue

Analysts covering Costco Wholesale modeled for quarterly EPS of $1.69 on revenue of $35.68 billion.

In the same quarter last year, Costco Wholesale reported earnings per share of $1.42 on revenue of $32.99 billion. The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 19.01 percent increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be up 8.14 percent from the year-ago period. Here's how the company's reported EPS has compared to analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 16.1 percent. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably content going into this earnings release. Analyst estimates have adjusted higher for EPS and revenues over the past 90 days. The average rating by analysts on Costco Wholesale stock is a Neutral. The validity of this rating has maintained conviction over the past 90 days.

Conference Call

Don't be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Costco Wholesale's Q2 conference call is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. ET and can be accessed here: http://www.costco.com/