Don't settle for ordinary quarterly reports.

Every week, I take a look at three companies that beat market expectations, since I believe that it's the biggest factor in a stock beating the market. Leaving Wall Street's pros with stunned expressions can be a good thing. It usually means that the companies have more in the tank than analysts figured. Capital appreciation typically follows.

Let's take a look at a few companies that humbled the prognosticators over the past few trading days.

We can start with Citigroup (NYSE: C). Earnings fell at the banking giant on Friday, but the $0.09-a-share profit was well ahead of the $0.05 a share that analysts were banking on.

Citi shares fell anyway, as a result of Friday's dreary market and financial regulation concerns that sent fellow banking behemoths Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) lower, even though they too clocked in ahead of Wall Street estimates.

Marriott (NYSE: MAR) also checked in a few floors higher than the pros, delivering a quarterly profit of $0.31 a share. Investors were braced for net income of $0.29 a share. Revenue per available room climbed nearly 10%, though that metric is stacked against last year's sorely depressed showing.

Finally we have tech bellwether Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) computing nicely. The computer chip giant's adjusted profit of $0.51 a share blew away Wall Street's $0.43-a-share target. The healthy report was validated a few days later when rival AMD (NYSE: AMD) also topped analyst projections on the bottom line.

It's important to keep watching the companies that surpass expectations. Over time, it will be a lucrative experience for investors as the market rewards the overachievers. That's the kind of surprise that 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.