Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of heavy-construction firm Granite Construction (NYSE: GVA) soared today, up as much as 19.8% on heavy trading.

So what: Third-quarter revenue fell short of analyst targets, but $0.93 of earnings per share totally crushed the $0.70 consensus estimate. Demand for Granite's array of construction materials was weak but plenty of large construction projects rolled along very smoothly.

Now what: The order backlog is getting fat, and so are gross margins. Infrastructure projects are a whole different animal than consumer housing, which explains how Granite, Fluor (NYSE: FLR), and Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI) can thrive even in this seemingly impossible economy. Given this rock-steady performance, it's hard not to see deep value in the whole construction industry right now.

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