Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) surged into the elite tier of Benzinga Edge's Stock Rankings this week, with its quality score jumping from 86.58 to 94.90 week-over-week.

Check out COST’s stock price here.

Earnings Beat Fuels Quality Score

This move places the retailer in the top 10th percentile of stocks for fundamental strength, following a fiscal first-quarter report where it beat both earnings and revenue estimates.

The sharp rise in Costco’s quality ranking—which evaluates a company’s “operational efficiency and financial health” based on historical profitability, directly reflects its first quarter performance.

The retailer reported revenue of $67.31 billion, topping analyst estimates of $67.14 billion. Adjusted earnings per share reached $4.50, beating the projected $4.27.

Fundamental strength was further evidenced ...