Why settle for ordinary quarterly reports?
Each week I take a look at three companies that beat market expectations, since I believe that this is the deciding factor in a stock's market-beating success. 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 over the past few trading days.
We can start with Akamai (Nasdaq: AKAM ) . The content delivery network earned $0.44 a share in its latest quarter by its "normalized" non-GAAP measure, ahead of both the $0.41 a share it earned a year earlier on that basis, and the $0.40 a share that Wall Street was looking for.
IT expenditures may be waning, but companies are turning to Web enablers like Akamai and Limelight Networks (Nasdaq: LLNW ) to speed up their secure content deliveries.
MasterCard (NYSE: MA ) is another topper. Before a litigation settlement, the credit card giant earned $1.87 a share in the fourth quarter. Analysts were expecting just $1.61 a share on the bottom line. Credit is a dirty word these days, but companies like MasterCard and Visa (NYSE: V ) are holding up well since they simply market the cards and aren't on the hook for the risk.
MasterCard and Visa are naturally susceptible to plastic-strapped consumers performing fewer transactions, but that's a small concession, given the model's consistency.
Finally, we have Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO ) giving router rooters a reason to cheer. The networking giant's report wasn't exactly pretty. Revenue fell by 8%. Earnings took a 21% spill. However, the company's profit of $0.32 a share clocked in just above the $0.30 a share that Mr. Market was braced for.
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.
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