GNC Holdings, Inc. (GNC – Free Report) is a leading global specialty retailer of health, wellness and performance products, including vitamins, minerals and herbal supplement products (“VMHS”), sports nutrition products and diet products. The company has a worldwide network of more than 8,900 locations.

Currently, GNC Holdings has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) but that could change following its promising first quarter 2017 earnings report which has just released. (You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here).We have highlighted some of the key details from the just-released announcement below:

Earnings: The current Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 33 cents per share. GNC Holdings’ first quarter 2017 adjusted earnings per share of 37 cents surpassed this estimate by 12.1%.

GNC Holdings, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

GNC Holdings, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | GNC Holdings, Inc. Quote

Sales: GNC Holdings posted sales of $644.8 million in the reported quarter, which also outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues of $631 million.

Key Stats: Domestic franchise revenue increased $1.3 million to $83.1 million in the current quarter compared with $81.8 million in the prior year quarter. Revenues from manufacturing/wholesale segment (excluding inter-segment revenue) decreased 8.6%, to $52.5 million compared with $57.5 million in the prior year quarter.

Major Factors: The company’s One New GNC plan has witnessed transformational changes. Management is encouraged by positive trends in transactions and by the early performance of its new loyalty programs. As of the end of the first quarter of 2017, 5 million consumers joined the myGNC Rewards Program. Also GNC Holdings’ transaction growth continued in the first quarter 2017, up 9.3%, resulting in sequential improvement in same store sales.

Stock Price: Following the earnings release, share prices surged 33.9% in the pre-market trading session.