3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away

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 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 can start with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ). The PC and printing giant earned $0.71 a share in its latest quarter, comfortably ahead of the $0.52 per share it earned a year ago and the $0.66 a share the pros were looking for this time around. HP's recent success contrasts with the struggles at former niche darling Dell Computer (Nasdaq: DELL).

HP's coming out on top isn't much of a surprise. The company has trounced expectations in every single quarter since Mark Hurd took over as CEO.

Another company that really knows how to deliver is FTD Group (NYSE: FTD). The floral-arrangement market leader earned $0.36 per diluted share this past quarter, considerably more than the $0.28-per-share bouquet that Wall Street was left holding. The company may not be growing as quickly as domestic rival 1-800-Flowers.com (Nasdaq: FLWS) is, but strength overseas helped boost FTD's top and bottom lines.

Finally, we have NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES). The publisher of popular Chinese online fantasy games earned $0.31 per American depositary share during its second quarter. Even if you back out a reinvestment investment tax refund, the company still clocked in ahead of the market's target of $0.28 per ADS. Growth may have hit a rough patch at NetEase, but the company has beaten estimates in all but one quarter over the past three 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.

Dell Computer is a stock pick for both Inside Value and Motley Fool Stock Advisor. NetEase is a Rule Breakers recommendation. Either newsletter can be yours 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.