Dive Brief:

• Costco Wholesale Corp. stock surged Thursday on the retailer’s Q3 same-store sales report. Sales were flat in November, handily beating expeditions of closer to a 0.9% to 1.5% decrease.

• Same-store sales shined even more brightly when subtracting out fuel price deflation and currency fluctuations, rising 6% in the U.S. and 6% for the company over, compared to a rise of 4.9% projected by Thomson Reuters analysts. Total November sales rose to $9.69 billion from $9.43 billion, and Q1 total sales rose 1% to $26.63 billion from $26.28 billion year over year.

• The retailer, second-largest to Wal-Mart in the U.S., saw healthy sales in electronics—including computers and televisions— as well as sundries, cooler, liquor, apparel, and food. 

Dive Insight:

Costco had a good day on Black Friday, which is especially notable considering it is among retailers making a point of staying closed on Thanksgiving.

The retailer’s stock surge is likely due to its same-store performance, without consideration for the forces that are outside its control, like currency fluctuations and gas prices. That tells investors that the company is doing right in the areas that it can control.

The company has a reputation for paying its workers well and providing customers with excellent customer service. And those satisfied customers are often mentioned as a Costco strength in analyst reports.

While a direct comparison to Wal-Mart isn’t really possible, it may be worth noting that Wal-Mart is playing catch up in both areas — worker compensation and training and in-store customer service.