It's a big week for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) investors. The leading warehouse club operator will announce its financial results for its fiscal first quarter on Thursday. Costco reports tend to be fairly consistent, but with a new CEO taking over next month there's going to be more attention than usual to make sure that there's no fumbling of the handoff here.

With Costco shares hitting an all-time high on Monday it can't afford to stumble. Let's take a closer look at the numbers, the leadership transition, and the impact of the inevitable increase of the warehouse club's membership fees. Yes, Costco has a lot to prove this week.

There isn't a whole lot of mystery or intrigue behind how the top line will play out in this week's report. Costco announces its monthly numbers within days of a period closing, so investors have known for almost two weeks how its revenue will look. The warehouse club giant delivered $56.71 billion in net sales for the 12 weeks ending on Nov. 26, a 6.1% increase from the prior year.

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Source Fool.com