We're Not Aiming for the Truck

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It's the climactic scene in Pixar's classic Toy Story. Woody and Buzz, Andy's two favorite toys, are in a bind. Andy's mom is driving the family out to a new home. The moving van -- with boxes full of Andy's toys -- follows along.

The pull-string cowboy and his galactic action figure buddy have been left behind, perhaps forever. In a stroke of computer-rendered genius, Woody lights a bottle rocket that's attached to Buzz. They take off. As Buzz glides past the moving van filled with toys, Woody grows concerned.

"We're not aiming for the truck," Buzz adds slyly, as the two keep going until they shoot through the sunroof of Andy's car. Mission accomplished.

One cool astronaut
Investors can learn a lot from Buzz Lightyear. Don't settle for the obvious. The moving van would have been easier, but where's the joy in landing in a crowded box of toys? If you want to perform better than an average investor, you need to avoid average investments.

That's easier said than done, right? Not exactly. Every three months, publicly traded companies get a chance to show us if they're average or not. Analysts spend a great deal of time building elaborate profit projection models. They are rewarded handsomely for their efforts, so you would expect them to land close to the mark more often than not.

Thankfully for you, there are always companies that seem to mystify the pros. Earnings season invites all kinds of bottle-rocket stragglers. Many land smack-dab in the back of the moving van. Others bang their heads against the bumper and are sent sprawling backward on the lonely pavement. Then you have those remarkable companies that won't settle for the truck. They somehow seem to perpetually topple Wall Street's consensus estimates.

Let's take a look at some of these impressive quarterly winning streaks.

	Last Quarter EPS	Estimate	Market-Thumping Quarters
Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG)	$0.62	$0.51	17
Apple Computer (Nasdaq: AAPL)	$1.14	$0.78	16
Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX)	$0.21	$0.15	10
Disney (NYSE: DIS)	$0.50	$0.39	7
Akamai (Nasdaq: AKAM)	$0.27	$0.26	5
NetEase.com (Nasdaq: NTES)	$0.30	$0.24	5
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)	$3.18	$2.92	4

Source: Thomson FirstCall

That's not falling, that's flying with style
Stocks can be human. Streaks were made to be broken. However, if you had to hop off the fence and take a stand, you would probably side with the bulls who feel that these companies will leave analysts behind in another cloud of dust for the current quarter.

And before you ask, there is usually a correlation between trouncing estimates and producing superior stock market returns. Just take a look at the first two names on the list. They have come out on top, every quarter, for four years in a row. The stocks have gone along for the ride. Apple is better than a 10-bagger in that time, while Intuitive Surgical has seen its shares appreciate eightfold.

Market-thumpers are really the only way to go if you consider yourself a growth-stock investor. Three of those stocks -- Intuitive Surgical, speedy broadband enabler Akamai, and Chinese online gaming giant Netease.com -- have all beaten the market since we recommended them in our Motley Fool Rule Breakers growth investing service.

The premium growth-stock research service is brimming with other perpetual target-toppers. If you want to learn more, you're always welcome to a 30-day pass to see if it's the right community-driven newsletter for you.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has seen Toy Story so many times that he owns shares in Disney. He owns shares of Netflix, too. Both companies are Stock Advisor picks. Rick is part of the Rule Breakers research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.