Costco Wholesale Corp.

Warmer weather in May meant an uptick in store traffic for a few retailers, including Costco. But the wholesale retailer’s same-store sales for the month — which increased 6%, with a 6% rise in U.S. sales and a 4% increase in international sales — were better than analysts had expected and bolstered by higher fuel prices.

The company reported net sales of $8.78 billion for the month, an increase of 8% from $8.13 billion during the similar four-week period last year.

Issaquah, Wash. – Costco Wholesale Corp. reported 3% year-over-year net income growth in its third quarter, to $473 million from $459 million in the year-ago period, as sales and membership fees improved. However, it came in short of the roughly $482 million in profit analysts had expected.

Net sales for the quarter increased 7% to $25.23 billion, from $23.55 last year.

Solid sales growth at Costco during the second quarter and a 6% same store sales increase at U.S. clubs did not translate into strong profits for the warehouse club operator whose earnings fell shy of analysts’ estimates.

New York -- Google and Costco Wholesale Corp. came out on top in a survey of large companies with the best compensation and benefits for workers by jobs site Glassdoor. Rounding out the top five were Facebook, Adobe and Epic.

The ranking was based on an online anonymous survey that asked employees to rate how satisfied they were with their pay and benefits on a scale of 1 to 5. Costco and Google both received a score of 4.4 out of 5. Google ranked higher than Costco only by fractions of a point.

On the heels of a mostly disappointing 2013 earnings season, many U.S. brick-and-mortar retailers will focus on building out their online presence for growth, according to Moody’s Investor Service’s new report, “Brick-and-Mortar Continues to March Online,” by Charlie O’Shea, VP – senior analyst, Moody’s.

Here are five highlights from the study:

Amazon.com took second place overall and was the highest-ranked retailer in the 2014 Temkin Customer Service Ratings, which rates 233 companies across 19 industries with 10,000 U.S. consumers. Other retailers in the top 12 include Chick-fil-A, Publix, H-E-B, Starbucks, Costco, QVC, and Trader Joe's.

Retailers with the most improvement over last year's ratings are Apple Store, KFC, and Food Lion. Ace Hardware and Staples saw their Temkin Customer Service Ratings fall by 15 points or more between 2013 and 2014: No retailers placed at the bottom of the rankings.

Waban, Mass. – Amazon.com took second place overall and was the highest-ranked retailer in the 2014 Temkin Customer Service Ratings, which rates 233 companies across 19 industries with 10,000 U.S. consumers. Other retailers in the top 12 include Chick-fil-A, Publix, H-E-B, Starbucks, Costco, QVC, and Trader Joe's.

Boulder, Colo. - Trader Joe’s is North America’s favorite grocery retailer based on satisfaction. A study of more than 6,200 consumers by Market Force Information, also found that Publix and Aldi were ranked second and third.