Costco, Kroger report—What to know in markets Thursday

Two major earnings reports are scheduled for release Thursday: grocery giant Kroger (KR) and big box retailer Costco (COST). Kroger will report before the opening bell, while Costco reports following the market close.

Investors will be curious to know how Kroger fared during the fourth quarter amid heated competition in the grocery space. Late last week, Amazon (AMZN) announced plans to launch another dozen or so grocery stores in major U.S. cities. Kroger shares tumbled on the news. And this Wednesday, Amazon announced its plan to close all of its domestic pop-up stores as it shifts its brick-and-mortar strategy. As Amazon continues to challenge grocery businesses, and traditional retailers more broadly, both reports on Tuesday will be even more closely watched.

Kroger is expected to report earnings of 53 cents per share on $28.42 billion in revenue, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Same-store sales, a key industry metric, are anticipated to have grown 1.8% during the quarter.

Meanwhile analysts predict that Costco will report earnings of $1.69 per share on $35.68 billion in revenue. Costco still reports monthly same-store sales figures and reported a 5.2% jump during February.

Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.

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