Every week, I take a look at a few companies that lapped their profit targets. Leaving Wall Street's pros with quizzical looks 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 look at a few companies that humbled the prognosticators this past week.

We can start with iMergent (NYSE:IIG). The company behind the StoresOnline Pro e-commerce enabling program earned $0.41 a share in its latest quarter. That was well ahead of both the $0.17 per share it earned a year ago and the $0.34 that the pros were expecting.

The company is projecting slower growth in fiscal 2008. It's also being tested -- and even banned in some states -- for its hard-sell seminar tactics. However, the public still loves the prospect of making a mint online, and iMergent is there to dangle the keys.

J. Crew (NYSE:JCG) is another topper. The retailer knows all about tops -- and bottoms, too -- as one of the trendy apparel chains that's in demand these days. The company earned $0.32 a share in its fiscal second quarter, comfortably above the $0.29-per-share market consensus. The chain, headed by former Gap (NYSE:GPS) rock star Mickey Drexler, has consistently beaten Wall Street since it went public last summer.  

Finally, we have Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY), turning a profit of $0.59 a share in its latest quarter. The discount retailer's bottom-line showing was a refreshing upgrade compared with the $0.45 per share that analysts were ready to settle for. Times may be tight, but thrifty-shopper magnets such as Casey's and Duckwall's (NASDAQ:DUCK) ALCO stores are doing just fine.

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.