America's top aluminum producer Alcoa (AA - Analyst Report) reported Q3 earnings after the bell, and once again the company blew the doors off expectations. Both sales and earnings were big positive surprises: 31 cents per share beat the 21 cents of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, and revenues of $6.24 billion in the September quarter sailed past the $5.74 billion we had expected.

Alcoa's story has been an overwhelmingly positive one for the past several quarters, save a disappointing Q4 2013 where the company took a major one-time charge. Including today's earnings beat of 48%, Alcoa is averaging a 43% positive surprise on its bottom line over the past 5 quarters. What's more, analysts had been ratcheting up their estimate revisions all quarter, making today's big beat even more impressive.

It is the second-straight quarter Alcoa has produced 7% growth sequentially. Aluminum prices take partial credit, as they peaked last month at north of $2100 per ton (on a 3-month contract with the London Metal Exchange) before tacking down a bit.

But the company's strategic move to purchase jet engine component maker Firth Rixson is already paying off. Between a Boeing (BA - Analyst Report) deal worth $1 billion and a $1.1 billion deal with Pratt & Whitney -- which is owned by United Technologies (UTX - Analyst Report) -- to supply jet engine parts has already made back more than two-thirds of Alcoa's nearly $3 billion investment in Firth Rixson. In addition, several car manufacturers are converting to lighter-weight bodies such as aluminum, so Alcoa's fortunes may continue looking bright for some time.

Year-to-date, Alcoa shares are up over 50% (and continue to climb in the after-market, post-earnings announcement). In the past year, AA has grown more than 100%, even though the stock is down over the past month. Of course, Alcoa still has a long way to go to reach its valuation heights prior to the Great Recession, but clearly the company is pointed in the right direction.

Alcoa is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock.