Every week, I take a look at a few companies that lapped their profit targets. Leaving Wall Street's pros with quizzical looks on their faces can be a good thing. It usually means 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 travel all the way to China for our first market-thumper. Baidu.com (NASDAQ:BIDU) saw its March quarter earnings more than double to $0.37 a share before stock-based compensation charges. The pros figured that the company would only be good for $0.33 a share in profitability.

Baidu is the online search engine of choice in China. Yes, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is doing everything it can to be a player in the world's most populous country, but it remains a distant second-place finisher to Baidu. It was a great quarter for the Rule Breakers stock pick, as margins widened even after investing in its search engine's debut in Japan.

And let's hear it for Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN). The leading e-tailer started out the trading week as a $15 billion company, but is at roughly $25 billion today after a monster March quarter. Earnings more than doubled at Amazon to $0.26 a share, smoking expectations of $0.15 per share in net income. Sales also topped the $3 billion mark. Yes, the company can apparently make a pretty penny even with subsidized shipping promotions -- and even when it's not the meaty holiday period.

Then we have Steiner Leisure (NASDAQ:STNR) sailing higher. The operator of spa services on most major cruise ships earned $0.62 a share for the March quarter. That may have been just a penny above Wall Street's forecast, but it finds Steiner in a familiar position -- on top. Steiner has beaten estimates in all but one quarter over the past five years.

So 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 a Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter selection. Baidu and Steiner Leisure are picks in the Rule Breakers growth-stock research service. Check into either newsletter for the next 30 days with a free trial subscription offer.

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.