Never get caught sleeping through earnings season. On any given day, the chances are better than fair that a company is about to throw Wall Street for a loop by producing better-than-expected results. Once a company does just that, investors should dig a little deeper, because there may be some neat things going on at the company that have yet to be priced into the shares.

Let's take a look at a few of these beaters that humbled the prognosticators this past week.

We'll start with Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE). The publishing software giant earned $0.29 a share in its fiscal third quarter. Yes, that was flat with last year's report, but it was actually well ahead of the $0.26 a share that the market was expecting.

Wall Street shouldn't be surprised here. The company has been able to come in slightly ahead of analyst estimates for 19 consecutive quarters. Granted, things may get tricky in a few months when Inside Value selection Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) rolls out Windows Vista. Microsoft's operating system upgrade is supposedly packing some applications that may eat into some of Adobe's flagship digital-publishing products. It's OK to be skeptical, though. The best way to beat the pros for 20 straight quarters is to have beaten them over the past 19 a quarter earlier.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) was another topper. The consumer electronics superstore saw its fiscal second-quarter profits climb from $0.37 a share to $0.47 a share. That was three pennies better than the clothesline where model crunchers were hanging out their blue shirts and khaki pants to dry. The big-box concept has resonated well with consumers over the past few years. The future may get even brighter as Best Buy keys in on the big-ticket market of home theater entertainment.

Then we have Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC). The investment banker saw its quarterly profits jump from $2.69 a share to $3.02 a share. That was better than the $2.87 mark that investors had been warming up to. Yes, the trade has been resilient lately, and it's not just Bear Stearns, either. Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) had clocked in ahead of the analysts earlier in the week. Discounter Charles Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW) -- a 63-bagger since 1990 -- also chimed in healthy trading metrics.

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.

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 theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.