Sergio Marchionne may have reason to smile as investors finally begin bidding up FCA stock.

Now officially merged, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said its third-quarter earnings were roughly in line with last year’s numbers.

Though that was essentially what analysts had anticipated, the automaker delivered a surprise by announcing it will spin off its iconic Ferrari brand – just months after CEO Sergio Marchionne appeared to indicate such a move wasn’t in the works.

The decision “will preserve the cherished Italian heritage” of Ferrari, said a statement from FCA Chairman John Elkann. Ferrari has been facing a fair bit of turmoil lately after the ouster of its long-time chief executive and its unexpectedly poor performance in the popular Formula One racing series.

Fiat Chrysler said it earned 188 million Euros, or $239 million for the three months ending September 30, down 1 million Euros, or $1.27 million, from the same period a year ago. Revenues, however, were up 14% for the period, to 23.6 billion Euros, or $30 billion.

(GM earnings beat expectations for Q3. Click Herefor more.)

FCA sold 1.1 million cars, trucks and crossovers during the quarter, a 10% year-over-year jump, despite slowdowns in the South American and European markets. During a news conference at the Paris Motor Show earlier this month, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said he was “not a firm believer in the recovery of Europe,” which has been struggling to come out of its worst economic downturn in decades.

But while Europe was a big disappointment, especially for the European side of the ledger, Fiat Chrysler’s balance sheet was propped up by a strong performance in both Asia and the North American market. The maker has been pushing to expand its presence in China, the world’s largest automotive market, and that helped it deliver Earnings Before Interest and Taxes, or EBIT, of 169 million Euros, or $215 million, up 70 million Euros from a year ago.

(Honda earnings are up, but the maker is forecasting a full-year drop. Click Here to learn why.)

In North America, a strong automotive upturn translated into an EBIT of 549 million Euros, or$700 million, a 13 million Euro increase. The Chrysler side of the company has had several successes this year, most notably the launch of its initially delayed Jeep Cherokee model.

Calling the latest report “a solid performance in the face of challenging market conditions,” Marchionne said, “We are on track to deliver on our full-year targets for 2014. With the formal creation of FCA and its debut listing on the NYSE, we have embarked on a new phase as a global company with even greater possibilities.”

The third-quarter earnings report was the first official financial statement since Fiat Chrysler completed its long-in-process merger at the beginning of this month. Officially registered in the Netherlands, with its global headquarters in London, the maker is now listed on both the Milan exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

After a slow initial launch, the earnings report – and the planned Ferrari spin-off — seemed to connect with investors, the maker’s stock, tried in New York as FCAU, posting an immediate double-digit that saw it, at least briefly, approach $12 a share.

(Ford Q3 earnings – a glass half-empty or half-full. Click Here to decide.)