Business Analytics

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp. reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended Nov. 20 rose 2.6% to $320 million, from $312 million a year earlier. The wholesale club operator attributed the lackluster performance, which missed Wall Street expectations, to higher costs, which offset increased revenue.

Costco's revenue rose to $21.18 billion, missing analysts’ predicted $21.29 billion in revenue.

Same-store sales rose 10%; excluding gas prices and strengthening foreign currencies, the figure rose 7%.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday said that consumer confidence in the U.S. was little changed for a second week, holding at a level typically reached during past recessions.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was at minus 50.3 in the period ended Dec. 4, after a reading of minus 50.2 the prior week. The gauge has been at minus 50 or worse for 11 of the past 12 weeks.

Philadelphia — Comparable sales for the third quarter took a slight dip at The Pep Boys due to continued weakness in the company's retail segment. The company reported that comparable sales fell 0.4%, consisting of a 0.4% comparable service revenue increase and a 0.6% comparable merchandise sales decrease. Total sales increased 5.2% to $522.2 million, from $496.4 million for the same period last year.

New York City -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index increased in November to 103.7, up from the revised figure of 102.42 in October. The November figure is up 6.4% from the same month a year ago.

Cherry Hill, N.J. -- Middle market CFOs, buoyed by increasing optimism fueled by sales growth, are prepared to increase capital expenditures by dipping into their stockpile of cash reserves, according to a survey by TD Bank. The top three areas of expected capital deployment include technology (40%), improvements to existing facilities (17%), construction of new facilities (12%),

Hingham, Mass. -- It’s official: Talbots Inc. is seeking a new CEO as it works to turn around its struggling business. The retailer said Monday that president and CEO Trudy Sullivan plans to retire as soon as a successor is named.

The company said it has created a search committee of independent board members and hired executive search firm Spencer Stuart to assist in its search.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General Corp. reported that its fiscal third-quarter net rose 34% to $171.2 million on higher sales. The results beat Wall Street expectations and the discounter boosted its full-year earnings guidance

Revenue for the quarter ended Oct. 28, 2011, increased 12% to $3.6 billion from $3.22 billion, topping Wall Street's estimate. Same-store sales rose 6.3% as customer traffic improved and the average transaction amount rose.

New York City -- A new report from Pike Research forecasts that LEDs will capture 52% of the commercial lighting market by 2021. Pike, a cleantech market intelligence firm, anticipates that LED lighting costs for various SSL products will be reduced by 80% to 90% in many cases during the next decade.