CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE: CXW) saw its stock surge 5.71% in after-hours trading on Wednesday following the release of its impressive first-quarter 2025 financial results. The company's performance exceeded analyst expectations, demonstrating resilience in a challenging economic environment.

The correctional facilities operator reported quarterly funds from operations (FFO) of $0.45 per share, significantly beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.34 by 32.35%. Although this represents a slight decrease from $0.46 per share in the same period last year, the strong performance relative to expectations likely fueled investor optimism. CoreCivic's quarterly revenue also impressed, coming in at $488.63 million and surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $478.49 million by 2.12%.

Adding to the positive sentiment, CoreCivic provided an optimistic outlook for the full year 2025. The company expects FFO per diluted share to range between $1.72 and $1.82, while projecting earnings per share (EPS) between $0.83 and $0.92. This forward-looking guidance suggests continued strength in CoreCivic's operations and financial performance, which may have contributed to the after-hours stock price rally.