3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away

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Every week, I take a look at a few companies that lapped their profit targets. Leaving Wall Street's pros perplexed can be a good thing. It usually means that the companies have more in the tank than analysts figured, and capital appreciation often follows.

Let's take a look at a few companies that humbled the prognosticators this past week.

We'll start with Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN). The leading online retailer posted earnings of $0.23 a share during its holiday quarter. Sure, it was less than what the company had earned a year earlier, when it had a major tax benefit to inflate profits, but it was more than the $0.21 per share that Wall Street was expecting.

A healthy 34% surge in sales helped lead the way. Investors may have been turned off by a little margin contraction during the period, but at the end of the day, Amazon had propped up its operating profits, and that's a good thing.

Then we have Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). Since going public in the summer of 2004, Google has only come up short once in its quarterly reports. In its latest round of results, the search-engine giant earned $3.29 a share, well above the $2.90 per share in net income the pros had predicted.

Let's also give a hand to Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG). After all, the company behind the da Vinci robotic surgical arms has been "giving us a hand" on the operating table for a few years now -- and spanking the market with those robotic arms it makes.

Intuitive earned $0.62 a share for the December quarter, or $0.73 a share before stock-based compensation. That makes 19 consecutive quarters in which the Rule Breakers recommendation has blown past expectations. Wall Street was looking for $0.51 a share in profitability for the period.

Keep watching the companies that lap expectations. Over time, it will be a rewarding 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.

Amazon.com is an active Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a fan of toppers. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.