Every week, I spotlight 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 that 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 over the past few trading days.

We can start with Take-Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO). The video game company behind hit franchises like Grand Theft Auto and BioShock posted a quarterly loss of $0.42 a share before stock-based compensation and reorganization expenses. Wall Street had been anticipating a loss of $0.51 a share from the recently buoyant Rule Breakers recommendation.

Pair up the better-than-expected quarter with healthy pre-orders for next month's Grand Theft Auto IV, and Take-Two is naturally raising its guidance for the year. That will no doubt come as frustrating news to Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), which has been publicly rebuffed after a pair of buyout offers, with plans to take its bid hostile.

ZipRealty (Nasdaq: ZIPR) is another topper. The real estate market may be dreadful, but it could be worse. ZipRealty posted a pro forma loss of $0.22 a share on Thursday, slightly better than the $0.26-a-share deficit that analysts were looking for.

Sure, it was far worse than the $0.07-a-share loss it posted a year earlier. Some would argue that the real estate broker with an online bent is a relative winner. Its agents closed on more homes during the quarter, but an 8% dip on the top line resulted from those homes selling at lower prices than they did a year ago.

Finally, we have J. Crew (NYSE: JCG) letting us know that retail isn't dead. The apparel chain saw its adjusted profits climb 24% to $0.41 a share, just ahead of Wall Street's $0.39-a-share earnings target.

J. Crew had yet another solid period, posting a 4% gain in comps. But it isn't alone in retail. Other chains like Men's Wearhouse (NYSE: MW), The Buckle (NYSE: BKE), and even the beleaguered Hot Topic (Nasdaq: HOTT) have bested the pros on the bottom line in recent days.

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 for free.

Either way, come back next Monday to learn about more stocks that blew the market away.