May 27 (Reuters) - Membership-only retail chain Costco Wholesale Corp beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly sales on Thursday, helped by strong demand for high-margin items, such as jewelry and home furnishing goods, as shoppers returned to its stores.

Net sales rose 22% to $44.38 billion in the third quarter, from $36.45 billion a year earlier, compared with estimates of $43.16 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES. (Reporting by Siddharth Cavale; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)