In place of the tepid performance Wall Street analysts expected from Victoria's Secret parent L Brands (NYSE: LB), the previously troubled company reported strong third-quarter results yesterday after market close, shattering consensus expectations. As reported by Zacks Equity Research, actual earnings per share of $1.13 delivered a 1,783.3% positive surprise, massively beating the $0.06 EPS consensus. Revenue also topped predictions by 14.3%, coming in at $3.06 billion. Analysts had already received hints of the coming rebound with the second quarter's 173.5% positive earnings surprise, but nevertheless remained pessimistic. L Brands' performance not only outpaced the pundits' predictions, but also yielded solid year-over-year growth. The adjusted earnings per share of $1.13 exceeded Q3 2019's $0.02 EPS. Comparable sales jumped 28% year over year, while overall net sales rose 14% from Q3 2019's $2.677 billion to this year's $3.055 billion. Image source: Getty Images. CEO Andrew Meslow remarked the growth was "driven by exceptional results and continued strength at Bath & Body Works, and a significant improvement in performance at Victoria's Secret." Bath & Body Works indeed produced explosive growth, with total sales rocketing 54.9% year over year. Victoria's Secret, though not losing ground as quickly as it did earlier in the year, still saw total sales shrink 14.2%. One potentially significant detail of Victoria's Secret sales is that while brick-and-mortar sales dropped both in L Brands' U.S. and Canada and international sales segments, Victoria's Secret Direct -- the mail order and e-commerce branch of the brand -- saw sales boom 41.9% for the quarter, though this was not enough to counter the physical retail decline. While L Brands no longer seems at risk of bankruptcy, Victoria's Secret continues to create headwinds for its otherwise remarkable turnaround. However, J.P. Morgan sees a potential 50% upside for the stock, and yesterday's upbeat report lends weight to the L Brands' bull case. 10 stocks we like better than L BrandsWhen 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 tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and L Brands 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 October 20, 2020 Rhian Hunt 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