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 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, and 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 Steelcase (NYS: SCS) . The provider of workplace products, furnishings, and services came through with a quarterly profit of $0.25 a share, blowing past the $0.19 a share that the pros were forecasting.

Steelcase's report was a welcome surprise, coming a day after fellow office furnishings giant Herman Miller (NAS: MLHR) took a hit after a poorly received quarterly report.

Rite Aid (NYS: RAD) also impressed on the bottom line. The drugstore operator didn't turn a profit. That's fine. Rite Aid hasn't posted positive quarterly earnings since 2007. However, Rite Aid's deficits are narrowing. Analysts figured that the pharmacy giant would post a loss of $0.07 a share after registering a deficit of $0.11 a share. Well, Rite Aid managed to only deliver a deficit of $0.05 a share.

Finally we have KB Home (NYS: KBH) also losing less than Wall Street was targeting. The homebuilder's stock soared 16% on Friday after delivering a quarterly deficit of $0.12 a share. Analysts were settling for a loss of $0.16 a share.

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.

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.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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