Why settle for ordinary quarterly reports?
I take a look at three companies that beat market expectations every week, since I believe that it's the biggest factor in a stock beating the market. 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 Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN). The "name your own price" travel website posted a pro forma third-quarter profit of $2.39 a share. Analysts were only expecting adjusted earnings to clock in at $2.10 a share.
Priceline's report came a week after rival Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) and travel deals publisher Travelzoo (NASDAQ:TZOO) missed their quarterly profit targets. Priceline has now beaten Wall Street guesstimates in 10 consecutive quarters.
AirMedia (NASDAQ:AMCN) is another topper. The operator of advertising networks in major Chinese airports earned an adjusted $0.13 a share in its latest quarter, 30% better than last year's $0.10 a share showing and just ahead of Mr. Market's $0.12 target.
Advertising in China remains a growing business, given the resilient economy in the world's most populous nation. Investors have several ways to play this niche, from high-tech outdoor advertising giant Focus Media (NASDAQ:FMCN) to bus and train advertiser VisionChina (NASDAQ:VISN).
Finally, we have Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI) screening an applause-worthy quarter. A boom in the sale of video game hardware and software helped prop up the retailer's third quarter results. Blockbuster posted a deficit of $0.08 a share, half of the $0.16 a share loss that the market was braced for.
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.
Focus Media is a Motley Fool Global Gains selection and a Motley Fool Rule Breakers pick. Priceline.com is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. Try any of our Foolish newsletters today, free for 30 days.
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 Fool has a disclosure policy.
