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 OCZ Technology (Nasdaq: OCZ ) . Analysts figured the maker of solid-state drives would post a small loss in its latest quarter. OCZ came through with an adjusted profit of $0.01 a share. Business is booming, and OCZ is pegging revenue to grow by at least 65% this year.
PriceSmart (Nasdaq: PSMT ) also landed ahead of the pros. The warehouse club operator posted net income of $0.55 a share in its fiscal third quarter. Even if we back out a one-time gain related to the sale of a property in Panama, PriceSmart would have easily crushed the $0.46 a share Wall Street was expecting.
Spun off by Costco (Nasdaq: COST ) in the 1990s, PriceSmart is gradually expanding its small chain of warehouse clubs through Latin America and the Caribbean.
Finally, we have Helen of Troy (Nasdaq: HELE ) dolling itself up for investors. The maker of beauty-care products delivered a quarterly profit of $0.78 a share, just ahead of the $0.76 a share that analysts were looking for. Affordable vanity sells, even if Supercuts parent Regis (NYSE: RGS ) checked in on Friday with negative store-level comps for its latest quarter.
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.
RSS Headlines
Fool UK