3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away

Don't settle for ordinary quarterly reports.

I take a look at three companies that beat market expectations every week, 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 SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU  ) . The grocer earned far less than the $0.62 a share it posted a year earlier, but its quarterly profit of $0.44 a share was comfortably ahead of the $0.34 a share that analysts were targeting.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) investors also banked on a winner. The investment banker's quarterly earnings of $1.28 a share topped both the $0.74 a share it posted a year earlier and the $1.16 a share that Wall Street was expecting. JPMorgan's strong bottom-line showing bodes well for peers Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS  ) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS  ) , which check in on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

JPMorgan's biggest improvement came in its credit card services -- something that doesn't really apply to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley -- but its investment banking operations held up well during the period.

Finally, we have Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW  ) proving that it's not ground chuck. The leading discount broker's quarterly net income of $0.20 a share was just enough to glide past Mr. Market's target of $0.19 a share.

Schwab's report also sets an upbeat tone for discounters reporting this week. TD AMERITRADE (Nasdaq: AMTD  ) announced results earlier this morning, while E*TRADE (Nasdaq: ETFC  ) checks in Wednesday.

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.