Shares of Apollo Soar on Earnings Report

If you can't find a job, you might as well go back to school.

That old saw appears to be the driving force behind the gains seen recently by education provider Apollo Group (APOL Quote), which announced late Monday that it saw a surge in student enrollment during its third quarter.

The increase in enrollment boosted earnings 45% to $201.1 million, or $1.26 a share, compared with $139.1 million, or 85 cents, in the year-ago period. Analysts expected earnings of $1.12.

The company's revenue rose 26% to $1.05 billion. This marked the company's first billion-dollar quarter.

Student enrollment grew 22% to 420,799, while new enrollments were up 23% to 87,500.

Shares in the company spiked at the market open, rising by more than 9% to $72.01.