Every week, I take a look at a few companies that lapped their profit targets. 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 this past week.

Checkpoint Systems (NYSE:CKP) checked in just fine, earning $0.51 per share from continuing operations before one-time charges. Analysts were expecting the company to earn just $0.38 a share.

Checkpoint services the retail industry with security tagging, promotional labeling, and RFID applications. It is usually a pretty good indicator of the state of retail as a whole. The company is "cautious" about the retailing environment in 2007, yet trouncing the pros is a great way to close out 2006.

GameStop (NYSE:GME) was another topper. The video game retailer earned a penny per share more than the $0.80 a share that Wall Street was banking on. That may not sound like much, but consider that GameStop -- a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation -- is serving up consoles and software just as many game publishers like Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) are bellyaching over the slow migration to next-generation machines.

GameStop is doing just fine selling higher-margin used gear and games at this point, but things will get even better. The company expects to grow its bottom line at a 25% annualized clip over the next couple of years.

Then we have Tiffany (NYSE:TIF). The high-end jewelry retailer earned $1.07 per share over the holidays, $0.02 a share ahead of where the pros were parked. Tiffany may not offer the same high-octane play in the upscale jewelry market as online retailer Blue Nile (NASDAQ:NILE), but it's holding up nicely just the same.

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.

Blue Nile is one of the original Rule Breakers newsletter selections and is also a Hidden Gems pick. GameStop is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a fan of toppers. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.