Top Performer for Fri: American Apparel (APP)

Earlier this week, American Apparel, Inc. (APP - Snapshot Report) announced third-quarter results that included a positive profit surprise. Today, shares of the company are higher by 6.3%, which is enough to make the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List.

Volume has surged Friday to more than 1 million shares, compared to the daily average of 364,000.

American Apparel is a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor and retailer of branded fashion basic apparel. As of Oct 31, it operated more than 275 retail stores in 20 countries. It also operates a leading wholesale business that supplies high quality T-shirts and other casual wear to distributors and screen printers.

There are 3 companies in total from the retail-apparel/shoe industry on today's 226-stock Zacks #1 Rank List. Excluding APP, the other 2 companies are J. Crew Group, Inc. (JCG) and Limited Brands, Inc. (LTD - Analyst Report).

American Apparel's Third-Quarter Report

For the third quarter, the company earned 5 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4 cents by 25%. This was the company's second straight quarterly surprise.

Net sales declined nearly 3% to $150.3 million from $154.8 million.

"While it is still very early, we are encouraged by some indications pointing to the beginning of momentum in our sales," said Chairman/CEO Dov Charney. "We believe that for the long term, our business remains on track as we continue to expand our brand's presence both in the U.S. and internationally."

American Apparel reiterated its financial guidance for 2009, which calls for net sales between $540 million and $555 million, and net income between a loss of $1 million and a profit of $4 million.

At the moment, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is 3 cents per share for this year and 41 cents per share for next year. Both of those outlooks have been steady, but next year's guidance marks a very sharp year-over-year improvement of more than 1200%.

Read the full analyst report on LTD

Read the full analyst report on JCG

Read the full analyst report on APP