Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning.

It's always good to be with you. Today is Friday, January 23rd. I'm Julie Morgan.

A winter storm is set to rock the south, Midwest, and northeast parts of the U.S. from today through Monday.

According to the weather channel, the impact of the storm could reach half the U.S. population.

The forecast calls for snow, sleet, and freezing rain to develop today from the southern

Rockies and Plains into Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and parts of the mid-south, then spread east into the Tennessee Valley,

Appalachians, and Carolinas through Saturday night. By Sunday, the storm will shift into the Ohio

Valley, mid-Atlantic and northeast, with increasing odds for heavy snow along the I-95 corridor,

from Washington, D.C. to Boston with lingering impacts into early Monday.

Mizuho Security's analyst David Bellinger said the firm expects Costco to benefit in the near term

from the well-publicized storm. He noted that Costco has typically seen a surge in sales and traffic

as large-scale events approach and as consumers

pantry load in preparation. For investors, the pantry loading effect for Costco is considered likely

to help the U.S. business put up a strong sales growth tally compared to a year ago when a polar

vortex also drove traffic. An anecdotal posts on social media show Costco stores crowded in states such as Texas, Georgia,

Tennessee, and Florida.

Shares of Costco are up 13% year-to-date.

On the flip side, dining-in restaurants, malls and discretionary brick-and-mortar retail are likely to see a Q1 revenue headwind

from the multi-day period of consumers sheltering inside.

Restaurant companies such as Duncan, Darden restaurants, Brinker International, B.Js, Texas

Roadhouse, Shake Shack, Sweet Green, and McDonald's have all cited severe winter weather

in the past as a drag on traffic. Meanwhile, Centerpoint Energy said earlier this week that

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