Money Matters, Simplified.
3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away
Tue, 12/28/2010 - 06:59 by Rick Aristotle ...
Don't settle for ordinary quarterly reports. Every week I take a look at three companies that beat market expectations, since I believe that it's the biggest factor in a stock beating the market. Leaving Wall Street's pros with stunned expressions can be a good thing. It usually means the companies have more in the tank than analysts figured. Capital appreciation typically follows.
Let's take a look at a few companies that humbled the prognosticators over the past few trading days.
We can start with Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE), proving that there's still a cozy living to be had in Apple's doghouse. The developer of desktop publishing software, including the Apple-shunned Flash, earned an adjusted $0.56 a share in its fiscal fourth quarter, ahead of both the $0.39 a share it posted a year earlier and the $0.52 a share that Wall Street was expecting.
FSI International (Nasdaq: FSII) also managed to land ahead of analyst targets, though it's a matter of less red ink with the semiconductor specialist. FSI's loss of $0.06 a share is a welcome surprise when stacked against the $0.09-a-share deficit that investors were braced for. It's a nice contrast to chip bellwether Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU), which missed Wall Street's profit projections a day later.
Somebody's noticing. FSI's shares have more than doubled since bottoming out two months ago.
Finally, we have Carnival (NYSE: CCL). Shares of the world's largest cruise line sailed to new highs after Carnival generated a quarterly profit of $0.31. Although that was a penny below the company's guidance a few months ago, it includes a one-time hit related to sailing disruptions after an engine fire on the Carnival Splendor.
It's important to keep watching the companies that surpass expectations. Over time, it will be a lucrative experience for investors as the market rewards the overachievers. That's the kind of surprise that 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.
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