What happened Shares of KBR (NYSE: KBR) surged to close 12.1% higher after the company reported Q3 2019 earnings on Wednesday. Analysts had forecast that KBR would earn $0.44 per diluted share, pro forma, in its fiscal third quarter, on sales of $1.41 billion. Instead, the engineering and construction company reported $0.45 per share, and $1.43 billion in sales -- thus beating forecasts on both the top and bottom lines. So what KBR reported 12% sales growth in Q3 to $1.4 billion, led by its energy solutions segment, which achieved 31% growth, as well as technology solutions, which grew 19%. The company's government solutions division lagged at 5% growth. Operating profit margins sagged a bit, falling 40 basis points to 7.3%. Nevertheless, earnings per share managed to eke out a penny's worth of growth, up 2.6% to $0.39 per share, as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Pro forma earnings (a non-GAAP metric) grew 4.6% to the aforementioned $0.45 per share, beating estimates in the process. Image source: Getty Images. Now what And KBR looks likely to beat earnings again once the Q4 report rolls around. Raising its guidance for the year, management forecast adjusted EPS (that's the pro forma number) to a range of $1.64 to $1.74 by year-end. Taken at the midpoint, $1.69 per share, that would make for 10% year-over-year growth in profits, and would also be $0.02 ahead of the Wall Street forecast for $1.67, foreshadowing another earnings beat three months from now. 10 stocks we like better than KBRWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and KBR wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of June 1, 2019 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source