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 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 Bankrate (Nasdaq: RATE). The financial rates publisher posted an adjusted profit of $0.46 a share on Thursday, just ahead of the $0.45 a share that Wall Street was looking for, and a 39% improvement over the $0.33 a share it earned a year ago.

It may not seem like much of a win at a mere penny on a per-share basis, but have you considered the company's advertiser base? Bankrate relies on lenders and other financial institutions to pay up for highlighted listings on the company's website. With many of these companies mired in subprime defaults, massive asset writedowns, and a horrendous housing market, Bankrate is actually proving its worth as a marketing necessity for any struggling firm.

Gmarket (Nasdaq: GMKT) is another topper. The leading South Korean online marketplace saw its first-quarter earnings soar 55% to $0.21 a share. Model-crunching analysts felt that Gmarket would earn just $0.17 a share for the period. Despite the domestic slowdown at eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), overseas specialists like Gmarket in Asia and MercadoLibre (Nasdaq: MELI) in Latin America are still growing quickly.

Finally, let's stick to the theme and go with three Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter recommendations by taking a look at LoopNet (Nasdaq: LOOP). The leading commercial property marketplace posted net income of $0.13 a share, before a small litigation charge. The results were modestly above the $0.11 a share it earned a year ago and the $0.12 a share in analyst guesstimates, but you also have to consider the pessimism surrounding this space.

Many expected LoopNet to fall into a rut once residential real estate weakness migrated to the commercial side. It hasn't been entirely contagious, thankfully, but LoopNet has also grown its reach by housing listings for nearly 600,000 properties. You can be at the wrong place at the wrong time and still make money if you have the better mousetrap.

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. It's free.

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

Gmarket, LoopNet, and Bankrate are Rule Breakers recommendations. eBay is a pick in the Stock Advisor newsletter service.

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