Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST ) reported a 30% surge in its first-quarter profit. Costco's quarterly earnings rose to $416 million, or $0.95 per share, from $320 million, or $0.73 per share, in the year-ago period. Its net sales climbed 9.5% to $23.2 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.93 per