What happened

Shares of power-optimizer company SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (SEDG -2.16%) jumped as much as 18.5% in trading Thursday after releasing third-quarter 2017 results. At 11:15 p.m. EDT shares were still up 16.6% on the day.

So what

Revenue was up 29.6% to $166.6 million and net income jumped 79.1% to $28.0 million, or $0.66 per share on a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis. Analysts were only expecting earnings of $0.55 per share, so the bottom line was a big surprise for investors.

Large rooftop solar installation

Image source: Getty Images.

Showing the breadth of customers SolarEdge has attracted, 51% of sales came from outside of the U.S. Management expects growth to continue next quarter as well, giving guidance of $175 million to $185 million in revenue and a gross margin of 33% to 35%.

Now what

SolarEdge has built a strong business on solar optimizers and inverters for residential solar systems, providing monitoring and other services for installers. It's been able to expand this platform as the market moves to more small installers and away from national companies driving the industry. As this move to regional installers continues, SolarEdge should be able to grow its market share and keep this financial performance going.