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 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.

We can start with AutoZone (NYSE:AZO). The auto-parts retailer earned $2.02 a share in its latest quarter, speeding past both the $1.73 a share it earned a year ago and the $1.91 a share where Wall Street was parked.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) is another topper. The maker of unmanned aircraft earned $0.24 a share during its fiscal second quarter, flying undetected past the $0.21 a share in profitability that the market was expecting. I'm a sucker for cutting-edge companies that take security to a new plane. Whether it's iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT), with its military robots that scour battlefields for mines and bombs, or TASER (NASDAQ:TASR), which provides bloodless resolutions to escalating matters closer to home, a company doesn't need to be a huge military contractor to make a difference.

Finally, we have Fleetwood (NYSE:FLE) putting the pedal to the metal. The RV giant posted a loss of $0.02 a share in its latest quarter, but this would have actually been a profit before a one-time impairment charge. Analysts were looking for a $0.06-a-share loss.

Sure, Fleetwood isn't the star of the industry. It doesn't have the monster backlog of orders you'll find at Thor (NYSE:THO). It's not consistently profitable like fellow juggernaut Winnebago (NYSE:WGO). However, the market grades on a curve when you put in the effort. Fleetwood has earned the right to drive up to the head of the class.

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.