One of my earliest lessons about investing was that it's easier to beat the market by having a long-term outlook on companies. If you're a long-term investor, I'm guessing that you weren't selling shares of Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) yesterday.

On Wednesday, the company reported that non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.59 in first-quarter 2006 results, which was well short of the $0.63 expected by analysts. It's not surprising that shares started moving down after the announcement, considering that the last time the company failed to meet or exceed estimates was more than three years ago. What was remarkable was that shares were down more than 9% at one point and are currently about 25% below the 52-week high of $77.82 set last November. The shortfall was blamed on lower-than-expected sales of three of its drugs: Fabrazyme, Synvisc, and Hectorol. The costs of preparing to launch Myozyme in Europe and the U.S., continued clinical trial costs, and the expansion of manufacturing infrastructure were highlighted as well.

Even with the shortfall, yearly guidance for revenues and diluted EPS were reiterated. Management has historically been very good with guidance, but regular checkups are always a good idea, especially when something significant has changed. Based on a few back-of-the napkin calculations, the lower-than-expected product sales most likely affected EPS by $0.01 to $0.02, which is enough to boost income to the high end of management's expectations. The numbers line up with what management is saying, so there's little reason not to believe them again here.

With the market focused on short-term events, there's also little reason not to be intrigued by today's discount. Genzyme has a very strong pipeline of drugs in various stages of clinical trials, many of which complement the company's other products. Leading the way is Myozyme for Pompe's Disease, which is similar in many ways to the company's leading drug Cerezyme, including its potential to make a significant contribution to sales. The market for Myozyme has been estimated at more than $500 million and may be effective for other rare lysozomal disorders as well. The drug has been approved in Europe, and the FDA is expected to make a decision by the end of this month for its use in the U.S.

Over the past two years, Genzyme has repurchased the rights to Synvisc from Wyeth (NYSE:WYE), added a cancer drug pipeline through it's acquisition of Ilex, and purchased a number of smaller companies to beef up its portfolio of drugs. There's now a steady stream of drugs making its way through clinical trials and possibly to full approval.

Clearly, Genzyme continues to invest in its business for the long term. That's the type of approach that can create a steady stream of market-beating returns for investors if they're willing to trust management.

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Fool contributor John Bluis does not own shares of any company mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.