Hot Growth 2008: Highflying Small Companies
Story: Hot Growth: America's Preeminent Small Companies
Slide Show: Small Companies, Big Gains
The reasons companies rose to the head of the Hot Growth pack are as diverse as the list itself. Some, like robotic surgery pioneer Intuitive Surgical (No.41), are riding high on a technological breakthrough. Others, like for-profit Strayer Education (No.7), have risen with demographic trends—in this case, demand among adults for further training in subjects like accounting and info tech.
Sometimes it's a matter of taking advantage of a red-hot end market. Many of the industrial names on the list are benefiting from the global infrastructure boom and do highly specialized work that's in demand right now. For example, two companies on this year's ranking—North American Galvanizing & Coatings (No.4) and AZZ (No.42)—focus on coating steel to protect it from rust.
This scoreboard gives you the numbers behind the stories. The first two columns, return on invested capital and three-year sales growth, were used in our initial screens. The next two columns, earnings growth and shareholder returns over the past year, show a sense of each company's growth trajectory. The final two columns give an idea of the relative size of the Hot Growth companies.
Rank | Company Name | Return on Inv. Cap. (%) | 3-yr. Sales Growth (%) | 1-yr. Sales Growth (%) | 1-yr. Earnings Growth (%) | 1-yr. Tot. Return (%) | Latest 12-mo. Sales ($ Mil.) | Latest 12-mo. Profit ($ Mil.) | Current Market Value ($ Mil.) |
| HANSEN NATURAL | |||||||||
| LULULEMON ATHLETICA | NA | ||||||||
| GRAHAM | |||||||||
| NORTH AMERICAN GALVANIZING & COATINGS | |||||||||
| BOLT TECHNOLOGY | |||||||||
| VSE | |||||||||
| STRAYER EDUCATION | |||||||||
| CARACO PHARMACEUTICAL LABS | |||||||||
| XENOPORT | NM | ||||||||
| GYMBOREE | |||||||||
| ASTRONICS | |||||||||
| AMERICAN ECOLOGY | |||||||||
| BLUE NILE | |||||||||
| VASCO DATA SECURITY INTERNATIONAL | |||||||||
| QUICKSILVER RESOURCES | |||||||||
| NUTRISYSTEM | |||||||||
| AMBASSADORS GROUP | |||||||||
| SOTHEBY'S | |||||||||
| BIDZ.COM | NA | ||||||||
| PREMIER EXHIBITIONS | |||||||||
| PETMED EXPRESS | |||||||||
| L.B. FOSTER | |||||||||
| ULTIMATE SOFTWARE GROUP | |||||||||
| PRICELINE.COM | |||||||||
| J. CREW GROUP | |||||||||
| DECKERS OUTDOOR | |||||||||
| CAL-MAINE FOODS | |||||||||
| HAYNES INTERNATIONAL | |||||||||
| SUN HYDRAULICS | |||||||||
| HURCO | |||||||||
| ITT EDUCATIONAL SERVICES | |||||||||
| APPLIANCE RECYCLING CENTERS OF AMERICA | NM | ||||||||
| INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE | |||||||||
| UNDER ARMOUR | |||||||||
| MORNINGSTAR | |||||||||
| ICF INTERNATIONAL | |||||||||
| HITTITE MICROWAVE | |||||||||
| LSB INDUSTRIES | |||||||||
| SIGMA DESIGNS | |||||||||
| AMERIGON | |||||||||
| INTUITIVE SURGICAL | |||||||||
| AZZ | |||||||||
| ADAMS GOLF | |||||||||
| RTI INTERNATIONAL METALS | |||||||||
| MIDDLEBY | |||||||||
| NETFLIX | |||||||||
| VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT | |||||||||
| DAWSON GEOPHYSICAL | |||||||||
| IDEXX LABORATORIES | |||||||||
| GENCOR INDUSTRIES | |||||||||
Sales and earnings are the latest figures available through the last 12 months. Earnings include net income from continuing operations before gains or losses from extraordinary items.
Three-year sales growth is calculated using the least-squares method. If results for the earliest year are negative or not available, the average is for two years.
Return on invested capital is earnings expressed as a percent of total debt and equity. If companies have made substantial accounting restatements, long-term returns may be averaged for two years instead of three years.
Time periods vary according to companies' fiscal calendars.
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