Why settle for ordinary quarterly reports?

I believe that the biggest factor in a stock's ability to beat the market is its ability to beat the market's expectations. That's why I look every week at three companies that have humbled Wall Street's pros over the past few trading days. If a company has more in the tank than the analysts figured, capital appreciation often follows.

We can start with Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL). The cost leader in solar modules delivered a profit of $1.29 a share in its latest quarter. Analysts weren't even close -- they planting their estimates in a shady $0.76 mark.

It's been a good quarter for most of the solar-energy players, as Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) and JA Solar (NASDAQ:JASO) have also landed well ahead of Mr. Market.

Online-gaming speedster Perfect World (NASDAQ:PWRD) is tearing it up in China. It reported a 45% bottom-line surge and earned $0.81 a share in its latest quarter. The victory seems greater in retrospect, as niche leader NetEase.com (NASDAQ:NTES) fell short of projections two days later.

Finally, we have SINA (NASDAQ:SINA) with a relative victory in China. The new-media giant posted an adjusted profit of $0.34 a share for its third quarter. Yes, that's quite a bit less than the $0.39 a share it delivered a year ago, but it's comfortably ahead of the $0.31 that analysts had been targeting. SINA has now clocked in ahead of Wall Street in 14 of the past 15 quarters. That's a trend worth respecting.

So keep watching the companies that surpass expectations. Over time, doing so 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.