The best-performing stocks typically have robust sales growth, increasing margins, and rising returns on capital, and those that can maintain this trifecta year in and year out often become the legends of the investing world.
It’s clear there’s a strong connection between sustained earnings growth and hall-of-fame returns. Keeping that in mind, here are three market-beating stocks that could turbocharge your returns.
AppLovin (APP)
Return Since IPO: +496%
Sitting at the crossroads of the mobile advertising ecosystem with over 200 free-to-play games in its portfolio, AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) provides software solutions that help mobile app developers market, monetize, and grow their apps through AI-powered advertising and analytics tools.
Why Is APP a Top Pick?
- Annual revenue growth of 29.2% over the past two years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains
- Well-designed software integrates seamlessly with other workflows, enabling swift payback periods on marketing expenses and customer growth at scale
- Impressive free cash flow profitability enables the company to fund new investments or reward investors with share buybacks/dividends
At $388.89 per share, AppLovin trades at 15.5x forward price-to-sales. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Advanced Drainage (WMS)
Five-Year Return: +73.1%
Originally started as a farm water drainage company, Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE: WMS) provides clean water management solutions to communities across America.
Why Do We Like WMS?
- Disciplined cost controls and effective management resulted in a strong long-term operating margin of 21.6%, and its rise over the last five years was fueled by some leverage on its fixed costs
- Free cash flow margin increased by 16.3 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders
- ROIC punches in at 22.8%, illustrating management’s expertise in identifying profitable investments, and its returns are climbing as it finds even more attractive growth opportunities
Advanced Drainage’s stock price of $171.01 implies a valuation ratio of 24.8x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
Cintas (CTAS)
Five-Year Return: +124%
Starting as a family business collecting and cleaning shop rags in Cincinnati, Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) provides corporate identity uniforms, facility services, and safety products to over one million businesses across North America.
Why Is CTAS a Good Business?
- Annual revenue growth of 9.3% over the last five years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
- Share repurchases have amplified shareholder returns as its annual earnings per share growth of 15.6% exceeded its revenue gains over the last five years
- Robust free cash flow margin of 16.2% gives it many options for capital deployment
Cintas is trading at $193.42 per share, or 38.1x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.
The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
