Shares of L Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, traded higher Thursday after the retailer beat analysts' expectations a day earlier.
The stock gained 5 percent on the day. Year-to-date though, the company's stock is still down 18 percent.
The retailer's second-quarter adjusted earnings rose to 70 cents from 68 cents in the year-ago period. Total sales increased to $2.89 billion from $2.77 billion in the comparable period.
Wall Street had expected adjusted earnings of 59 cents on $2.86 billion in revenue, according to a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate.
Comparable sales ticked up 3 percent, a relative bright spot in retail.
L Brands gave light third-quarter guidance of 40 cents to 45 cents a share, which was shy of analysts' estimate of 47 cents a share.
Still, analysts at Stifel see this as a continuance of the company's strategy of surprising investors to the upside. Stifel has a "buy" rating on the stock.
"Management historically offers cautious guidance at the beginning of the quarter in an effort to under promise, over deliver," the firm wrote in a note to clients. "We believe this is the case today."