Shares of premium automaker  (NYSE: RACE) -- what else? -- "raced" 12.5% higher through 11:50 a.m. ET on Thursday, after beating analyst earnings forecasts.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Wall Street had forecast that Ferrari would earn about $1.31 per share on just under $1.5 billion in quarterly sales. This morning, Ferrari announced its earnings were actually $1.76 per share (1.62 euros, in local currency), and its sales came in 10% ahead of expectations at $1.65 billion.

For the quarter, Ferrari managed to turn a 2% decline in cars shipped into an 11% increase in revenue and a 25% increase in operating profits. Operating profit margin tacked on 260 basis points, rising to 24.4% (Tesla is only earning an 8.2% operating profit margin). And earnings per share surged 34%.

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Source Fool.com