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 puzzled looks on their faces can be a good thing. It usually means that the companies have more in the tank than analysts figured. 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 Red Hat (NYSE:RHT). The Linux-based provider of enterprise solutions delivered a profit of $0.17 a share, ahead of the $0.16 a share that Mr. Market was banking on.

Red Hat's success was the result of a 21% surge in its bread-and-butter subscription revenue.

Micron Technology (NYSE:MU) also remembered to trounce its targets, earning $0.23 a share in its latest quarter. Analysts figured that Micron would reverse last year's huge deficit, but they were only holding out for a profit of $0.07 a share. With average selling prices for computer-standard DRAM memory chips growing sequentially for the first time in ages, Micron was able to fatten its margins.

Finally, we have ConAgra (NYSE:CAG) cooking up nicely. The company behind Healthy Choice frozen entrees and Peter Pan peanut butter earned $0.52 a share in its fiscal second quarter after adjusting for hedging activities and other items, besting both the $0.43 a share it posted a year ago and the $0.47 a share the pros were expecting.

ConAgra gained ground on the bottom line despite a 2% slide in net sales. Recession-weary consumers are turning to cheaper store brands in this price-conscious climate. The trend has benefitted TreeHouse Foods (NYSE:THS), Ralcorp (NYSE:RAH), Cott (NYSE:COT), and other makers of house-branded knockoffs, but ConAgra is finding a way to make it work on the bottom line.

So, keep watching the companies that surpass 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 Motley Fool 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.