Costco (COST 1.10%) just booked a surprising drop in quarterly profit, which marked the warehouse retailer's third quarter in a row that it missed Wall Street's earnings estimates. But that's no reason for shareholders to panic. In fact, there was plenty for investors to cheer in that announcement.
In the video below, Fool contributor Demitrios Kalogeropoulos notes that Costco's latest results were held back by a very weak holiday shopping season. Still, Costco managed to boost its comparable-store sales by a healthy 5% -- a pace that competitors couldn't match. Looking beyond the profit figures, Demitrios highlights two numbers that he argues are more important to the business: member renewal rates and warehouse openings. Both of those figures are at record highs, suggesting Costco's long-run potential for growth is as strong as ever.
