Think of PaneraBread (NASDAQ:PNRA) as the San Antonio Spurs of the restaurant biz. Like the reigning NBA champs, Panera may not grab the media spotlight or the high-profile buzz, but its excellent performance makes it one of the best in its league.

Panera went public in 1999, and its stock has since rocketed from the low single digits to its current price around $58. Few if any other food-related stocks have performed so well. True, Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) and Applebee's (NASDAQ:APPB) have seen a steady rise over the same period, but they haven't twinkled like this star.

Panera's newly released third-quarter results suggest the company is still in its prime. Total revenue growth remains impressive, increasing 30.6% year over year. Its comparable-store sales were no slouch either, with 7.2% growth from company-owned units and 8.6% from franchise bakeries.

It's nice to see that Panera didn't sacrifice margins to gain this tremendous growth. The company's operating profit margin of 12.2% is consistent with its year-ago level. The combination of supercharged revenues and stable margins increased its earnings 32% to $0.37 per diluted share.

The company is definitely on fire, and it doesn't expect to cool its jets anytime soon. Panera decided to raise its fourth-quarter estimates, and it's now anticipating full-year earnings between $1.62 and $1.63 per share.

Its stock is currently trading at 35 times this year's earnings, which is far from a bargain. But if you're looking to get a cheap deal on a premium performer like the Spurs' Tim Duncan, good luck. To win championships, sometimes you have to pay up for top players.

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Fool contributor Jeremy MacNealy does not own shares of any companies mentioned.