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 pros over the past few trading days.

We can start with First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR).

Earnings season has been hard on many clean-energy players, but First Solar managed to shine bright in posting a profit of $1.65 a share before restructuring charges. Analysts were only holding out for a profit of $0.90 a share.

First Solar had actually come up woefully short in each of its four previous quarters, so the strong performance was truly a surprise.

The strong report -- accompanied by a couple of analyst upgrades -- was enough to send First Solar's shares 18% higher last week, but it wasn't enough to lift its battered sector. Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) shareholders suffered double-digit percentage declines on the week.

DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI) also smiled pretty for its quarterly snapshot. The provider of satellite imagery managed to report a profit of $0.21 a share, nearly twice as much as the $0.11 a share that analysts were targeting.

Finally, we have Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR) proving that it has more to offer than its juicy dividend. Revenue may have declined at the broadband, digital phone, and TV service provider, but its bottom-line result of $0.08 a share was well ahead of what Wall Street was forecasting. Market pros figured that Frontier's earnings would come in flat with the prior year's $0.05-a-share showing.

Moving in the right direction
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. If that's not up your alley just yet, you can still check out a free special report detailing the next trillion-dollar revolution.

Either way, come back next week to learn about more stocks that blew the market away in the coming days.