As we wrap up another hectic earnings season, did you take the time to notice the companies that obliterated profit targets? If you didn't, take a closer look at some of those companies. It's pretty special when you're doing so well that even the pros underestimate your profit-producing power. Let's review a few of the beaters that humbled the prognosticators this past week.

We'll start with CitiTrends (NASDAQ:CTRN). The retailer's stock shot up 5% on Friday, after the company produced October-quarter results that found earnings climbing 11% higher to $0.20 a share. Analysts had expected the bottom line to drop to $0.16 a share.

Citi Trends is doing things a bit differently than most apparel chains. Instead of targeting crowded suburban malls for expansion, Citi Trends locates its stores in urban markets where household incomes may be lower, but shoppers make it up in volume and loyalty. Comps were up a healthy 6% for the period, an impressive showing, since it's stacked on a whopping 25% gain in same-store sales a year earlier.

Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) was another topper, cashing in on value-priced retailing. The chain that specializes in supplier closeouts and overstocks earned $0.07 a share -- or $0.02 a share before discontinued operations -- for the seasonally sleepy quarter. Wall Street was looking for a small loss during the period. Comps were also up a respectable 6%.

Even though it would be a stretch to begin to tie the success of Citi Trends and Big Lots this past week to the performance of other thrifty shopper havens like Tuesday Morning (NASDAQ:TUES) and Dollar General (NYSE:DG), it's worth noting that consumers seem to be rewarding the stores that give them a bigger bang for their bucks these days.

On the more extravagant side of things, wedding planning site The Knot (NASDAQ:KNOT) also turned wedding bells into dinner bells. The Rule Breakers recommendation saw earnings per share nearly quadruple to $0.11 a share. Analysts were expecting a lot out of The Knot, but only looking for $0.10 per share in net income for the period.

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 the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Foo l has a disclosure policy.