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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 Buffalo Wild Wings (Nasdaq: BWLD ) .
The fast-growing chain of sports bars reported a 33% spike on the bottom line. B-Dubs' earnings of $0.75 a share flew past the $0.67 a share that a boneless Wall Street was forecasting.
Surprised? You shouldn't be. Buffalo Wild Wings has beaten analysts' estimates in seven of the past eight quarters.
Akamai (Nasdaq: AKAM ) is another topper. The leading content-delivery network served up net income of $0.45 a share. The market was settling for a profit of just $0.40 a share. The demand for Akamai's ability to serve up website pages and digital files is as strong as ever, but the cutthroat nature of the industry had roughed up Akamai's quarterly results for a bit. Smaller rival Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT ) actually posted a larger loss than the analysts were projecting last week.
However, Akamai's recent consolidation moves -- snapping up smaller players -- are making it easier for all remaining players to price their offerings at profitable price points.
Finally, we have Glu Mobile (Nasdaq: GLUU ) sticking up. Smartphone gaming revenue has been improving the company's prospects, though it's still not consistently profitable. Thankfully, the $0.02 a share deficit is far kinder than the $0.10 a share loss that investors were banking on. Glu Mobile posted far narrower than projected losses in each of 2011's four quarters.
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.
If these three victors aren't enough, check out a new report that reveals three hidden winners in a booming niche that will only get bigger in the future. It's a free report, so check it out soon.
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Report this Comment On February 13, 2012, at 1:15 PM, rootrow wrote:
Where would you have pulled the LVLT number? The LVLT EPS was a beat. 62 cent loss versus estimate of $1.10.
On a consolidated basis, net loss per share was $0.80 for the fourth quarter 2011, or $0.62 excluding special items consisting of the gain on sale from the discontinued coal operations, the charge for the redemption and repurchase of debt, the impairment of certain wireless spectrum licenses and costs associated with the Global Crossing transaction, compared to $1.75 net loss per share for the third quarter 2011, or $1.38 excluding special items consisting of charges for the extinguishment of debt and costs associated with the Global Crossing transaction.
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