
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.
Western Digital (WDC)
Five-Year Return: +619%
Founded in 1970 by a Motorola employee, Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) is a leading producer of hard disk drives, SSDs and flash memory.
Why Do We Like WDC?
- Sales outlook for the upcoming 12 months calls for 48.6% growth, an acceleration from its two-year trend
- Operating margin increased by 21.7 percentage points over the last five years as it refined its cost structure
- Free cash flow margin increased by 23.1 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders
Western Digital is trading at $406.75 per share, or 20.3x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Kirby (KEX)
Five-Year Return: +165%
Transporting goods along all U.S. coasts, Kirby (NYSE: KEX) provides inland and coastal marine transportation services.
Why Should You Buy KEX?
- Impressive 11.3% annual revenue growth over the last five years indicates it’s winning market share this cycle
- Share repurchases over the last five years enabled its annual earnings per share growth of 47.2% to outpace its revenue gains
- Free cash flow margin expanded by 10.4 percentage points over the last five years, providing additional flexibility for investments and share buybacks/dividends
Kirby’s stock price of $137.65 implies a valuation ratio of 17.9x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.
Tenet Healthcare (THC)
Five-Year Return: +320%
With a network spanning nine states and serving primarily urban and suburban communities, Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) operates a nationwide network of hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and outpatient facilities providing acute care and specialty healthcare services.
Why Could THC Be a Winner?
- Share buybacks catapulted its annual earnings per share growth to 18.6%, which outperformed its revenue gains over the last five years
- Free cash flow margin expanded by 11.7 percentage points over the last five years, providing additional flexibility for investments and share buybacks/dividends
- Returns on capital are growing as management capitalizes on its market opportunities
At $259.78 per share, Tenet Healthcare trades at 12.4x 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
ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.
Find out which 5 stocks it’s flagging this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth Stocks for Free HERE.
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,552% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
