Why Hanesbrands' Shares Jumped

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What: Shares of Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI  ) were stretched higher today, gaining as much as 10% in intraday trading after the company's second-quarter results topped expectations.

So what: The baron of briefs reported a drastic year-over-year drop in GAAP profit -- from $87 million last year to just over $1 million this year -- however, most of that decline was due to costs associated with the company's exit from its imagewear businesses. Excluding those costs, the company earned $0.67 per share, which was easily better than the $0.49 analysts were expecting. Revenue grew 1% from the second quarter of 2011 to $1.18 billion.

Now what: Though earnings per share topped expectations, they were still down 14% from last year thanks to "substantially higher cotton costs." When you sell a broad variety of largely cotton garments, higher cotton prices are particularly painful. However, in its statement, the company said, "With the majority of cotton inflation behind the company, Hanes expects solid results for the second half of 2012." For the full year, the company offered up guidance that was roughly in line with Wall Street's expectations on the bottom line, but a bit light on sales.

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