3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away

Motley Fool Staff
Updated

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 Baidu.com (NAS: BIDU) . China's leading search engine posted an adjusted profit of $0.86 a share, just ahead of the $0.83 a share that analysts were targeting. Wall Street's had years of practice in trying to nail Baidu's profitability, falling short more often than not. The dot-com speedster has now beaten the pros in 10 consecutive quarters.

Wall Street figured that Electronic Arts (NAS: ERTS) would post a quarterly loss. The video game maker didn't get mad: It got Madden. Fueled by sales of its annual NFL franchise, EA managed to score an adjusted profit of $0.05 a share. EA's larger rival Activision Blizzard (NAS: ATVI) reports next week.

Finally, we have Steiner Leisure (NAS: STNR) . The seaworthy spa operator posted quarterly income of $0.86 a share before acquisition-related costs, ahead of both the $0.77 a share it posted a year earlier and the $0.84 a share that Wall Street was forecasting. Carnival (NYS: CCL) , Royal Caribbean (NAS: RCL) , and NCL -- the three largest cruise line operators -- rely on Steiner to run most of the floating spas on their fleets.

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 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.

If you want to track these stocks to see if they come out ahead next quarter, add them to MyWatchlist:

At the time thisarticle was published The Motley Fool owns shares of Activision Blizzard.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Baidu.com and Activision Blizzard.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended creating a synthetic long position in Activision Blizzard. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz calls them as he sees them. He does not own shares in any of the stocks in this story, except for Steiner Leisure. Rick is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.

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