3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away

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Every week, I take a look at a few companies that topped their profit targets. Leaving Wall Street's pros baffled 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 General Mills (NYSE: GIS). The cereal giant earned $1.25 a share in its latest quarter, well ahead of both the $0.96 a share it earned a year ago, and Wall Street's profit target of $1.03 a share. Lower commodity prices played a key role in delivering healthier profit margins, but many of General Mills' food-churning peers still didn't fare this well.

Used car retailer CarMax (NYSE: KMX) was no lemon. Its haggle-free showrooms were hopping this past quarter, with comps up a crisp 8% as sales rose a healthy 13%. The real gem here is CarMax's profit of $0.46 a share. The pros were parked elsewhere, betting on just $0.18 a share in net income.

New-car retailers may be the obvious beneficiaries of this summer's "cash for clunkers" program, but used-car specialist CarMax and America's Car-Mart (Nasdaq: CRMT) have been more than up for the test drive.

Finally, Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) is calling in. The BlackBerry maker earned $1.03 a share in its latest quarter, beating out Mr. Market's best guess of $1.00. Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone and Palm's (Nasdaq: PALM) Pre may be the buzzworthy smartphones these days, but Research In Motion is still shipping out millions of new BlackBerry devices every quarter. A disappointing outlook hammered the stock on Friday, but the company's reach is undeniable.

So keep watching the companies that lap expectations. Over time, it will be a profitable experience for investors, as the market rewards the overachievers. That's the kind of surprise we look for in the Motley Fool 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.