Why Shares of LKQ Corp. Jumped Today

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What's Happening: Shares of auto parts supplier LKQ Corp surged on Thursday after the company beat analyst estimates for first-quarter earnings. After rising as much as 10% at market open, the stock has settled a bit, still up 7% at 12:30 Thursday afternoon.

Why It's Happening: LKQ reported revenue of $1.77 billion, up 9.1% year-over-yearand just shy of analyst expectations. EPS of $0.35 rose by 2.9% year-over-year and bested analyst estimates by about 13%.

Organic revenue rose 5.1% year-over-year in the first quarter, with acquisitions accounting for the rest of LKQ's revenue growth and currency fluctuations having a negative effect. During the first quarter of 2014, LKQ spent $487 million on acquisitions.

Along with beating earnings estimates, LKQ provided solid guidance for the rest of 2015. The company expects organic revenue growth to be between 6.5% and 9% for the full year, with net income in the range of $420 million to $450 million, an 18% year-over-year increase at the high end of that range.

CEO Robert Wagman had this to say: "We are optimistic about our prospects for 2015 after a solid start to the year despite interim challenges such as those witnessed in the quarter with scrap and currency fluctuations. Our guidance reflects this belief with strong year over year growth in revenue, earnings and cash flows projected for 2015."

The article Why Shares of LKQ Corp. Jumped Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Timothy Green has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and LKQ. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.