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 pros over the past few trading days.

We can start with First Solar (NAS: FSLR) .

Earnings season has been hard on many clean-energy players, but First Solar managed to shine bright in posting a profit of $1.65 a share before restructuring charges. Analysts were only holding out for a profit of $0.90 a share.

First Solar had actually come up woefully short in each of its four previous quarters, so the strong performance was truly a surprise.

The strong report -- accompanied by a couple of analyst upgrades -- was enough to send First Solar's shares 18% higher last week, but it wasn't enough to lift its battered sector. Canadian Solar (NAS: CSIQ) and Trina Solar (NYS: TSL) shareholders suffered double-digit percentage declines on the week.

DigitalGlobe (NYS: DGI) also smiled pretty for its quarterly snapshot. The provider of satellite imagery managed to report a profit of $0.21 a share, nearly twice as much as the $0.11 a share that analysts were targeting.

Finally, we have Frontier Communications (NYS: FTR) proving that it has more to offer than its juicy dividend. Revenue may have declined at the broadband, digital phone, and TV service provider, but its bottom-line result of $0.08 a share was well ahead of what Wall Street was forecasting. Market pros figured that Frontier's earnings would come in flat with the prior year's $0.05-a-share showing.

Moving in the right direction
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. If that's not up your alley just yet, you can still check out a free special report detailing the next trillion-dollar revolution.

Either way, come back next week to learn about more stocks that blew the market away in the coming days.

The article 3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away originally appeared on Fool.com.

The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days.Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz calls them as he sees them. He does not own shares in any of the stocks in this story. Rick is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.

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