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 TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO). The digital video recorder (DVR) pioneer posted a loss of $0.04 a share during its fourth quarter. It may not seem impressive on its own, but it's better than the $0.06 a share loss it rang up a year ago, and a lot better than the $0.10 a share deficit that Wall Street was expecting. TiVo is gradually shifting from a hardware company to a licensing specialist, and that's helping the company improve on its margins, even with sloppy subscription tallies.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) is another topper. The warehouse club operator earned $0.89 a share in its latest quarter after removing a one-time gain, ahead of the $0.86 a share that analysts were braced for. Sure, logic dictates that consumers flock to retailers that provide more bang for their buck. Closeout superstore Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) also beat Mr. Market recently. However, BJ's biggest rival -- Costco (NASDAQ:COST) -- actually missed Wall Street expectations on the same day that BJ's reported.

Another industry disparity this past week came in the Chinese online gaming niche. Giant Interactive (NYSE:GA) delivered net income of $0.18 a share, blowing past the market's profit target of just $0.10 a share. Unfortunately, peer Perfect World (NASDAQ:PWRD) fell short for the first time since going public two years ago. The moral of the story for both BJ's and Giant Interactive is that divergences happen even within the same sectors.

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.