3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away

Don't settle for ordinary quarterly reports.

I take a look at three companies that beat market expectations every week, since I believe that it's the biggest factor in a stock beating the market. Leaving Wall Street's pros with stunned expressions can be a good thing. It usually means that the companies have more in the tank than analysts figured. Capital appreciation typically follows.

Let's take a look at a few companies that humbled the prognosticators over the past few trading days.

We can start with Zipcar (NYS: ZIP) .

The popular car-sharing service posted a loss of $0.17 a share in its first quarter as a public company, less than the $0.23 a share deficit that analysts were targeting. It was a good week for companies lending out cars, as auto rental giants Hertz (NYS: HTZ) and Avis Budget (NAS: CAR) also accelerated past Wall Street estimates.

LinkedIn (NYS: LNKD) is another recent IPO that sparkled on the earnings stage. The social networking website for professionals earned $0.04 a share in its latest quarter. The pros figured that LinkedIn would check in with a modest loss. The other two pure plays in social networking -- China's Renren (NYS: RENN) and Latin America's Quepasa (ASE: QPSA) -- will report their latest financials on Thursday.

Then there's Sirius XM Radio (NAS: SIRI) . The satellite radio giant posted a profit of $0.03 a share. A good chunk of that profit came from a one-time gain related to its acquisition of its Canadian operations, but Sirius XM still would have squeaked ahead of the $0.01 a share that the market was forecasting.

It's important to keep watching the companies that surpass expectations. Over time, it will be a lucrative experience for investors as the market rewards the overachievers. That's the kind of surprise that we look for in the Rule Breakers newsletter service. Want in? Check out a 30-day trial subscription.

Either way, come back next Monday to learn about more stocks that blew the market away.

At the time thisarticle was published The Motley Fool owns shares of Hertz Global Holdings and Zipcar. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Zipcar. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a fan of toppers. He does not own shares in any of the stocks in this column, except for Zipcar. He is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.

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