When discount retailer Costco Wholesale (COST:NASDAQ) files its third-quarter earnings report next Thursday, 30 May, there is likely to be a great deal of interest in what the company has to say about consumer spending habits.

Larger rival and retail bellwether Walmart (WMT:NYSE) reported its latest earnings last week, and revealed the increasing strain on low-income American households making less than $35,000 per year.

However, it also reported a growing number of higher-income households earning over $100,000 visiting its stores to ‘trade down’ and take advantage of low prices on big-ticket items, allowing it to raise its full-year forecast sending its shares up 7% to a new all-time high.

Costco has always been seen as a safe haven for savvy shoppers due its competitive prices and bulk-buy offers, but in recent months it has raised prices on some of its most popular lines and there is talk of it raising gasoline prices and even its membership fees.

Thankfully the warehouse retailer’s famous $1.50 hot dog and soda offer, a fixture of its food halls for the past 40 years, looks safe for the time being, but with its shares also trading at all-time highs the firm will need to reassure investors it isn’t about to see a decline in customers or revenues.

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29 May: Agilent Technologies, HP, Salesforce

30 May: Best Buy, CooperCompanies, Costco, Dollar General, Hormel Foods, Lululemon Athletica, Marvell, MongoDB, NetApp, Ulta Beauty, Zscaler

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