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As the bull market run hits 10 years this month, some investors are taking the opportunity to think back to the carnage of 2008 and early 2009 and remember how scary and chaotic the markets were back then. Since the current run began around March 9, 2009, most major stock indexes have at least tripled, and the vast majority of stocks have seen sizable gains as well.
Periodically, we've taken a closer look at the top-performing stocks over various 10-year periods, to try to get insight on ways to find those stocks before they produce such amazing returns. As investors mark the 10th anniversary of this bull market, now seems like a great time to take another look back, and see what we can learn about what made some stocks the winners that they are.
The top 10 stocks of the past decade
| Stock | Market Cap | Total Return, 2009-2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Industries | $1.07 billion | 28,821% |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: JAZZ) | $7.75 billion | 23,328% |
| Nexstar Media Group | $4.67 billion | 21,448% |
| Sleep Number | $1.40 billion | 18,208% |
| MGP Ingredients | $1.36 billion | 14,710% |
| Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS) | $10.63 billion | 10,627% |
| Air Transport Services Group | $1.25 billion | 10,490% |
| Dana Inc. | $2.71 billion | 10,314% |
| EVI Industries | $438 million | 9,360% |
| Mitek Systems | $418 million | 9,291% |
Data source: S&P Global Market Intelligence. List is derived from all current Russell 3000 index components.
Seeking winners among unknown stocks
The most obvious takeaway from this list of stocks is that the top performers of the past decade aren't stocks that most people know very well. Exact Sciences is probably the most prominent among the 10; while many investors might not be familiar with the company's name, its Cologuard colon-cancer testing kit has become well-known for allowing people to screen for the disease from the comfort of their own homes. Beyond that, the only other company that currently comes close to large-cap status is Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which has specialized in developing drugs to treat very rare conditions.
Cologuard maker Exact Sciences is the largest company on the list. Image source: Exact Sciences.
In fact, most of the companies that made this list of top stocks are tiny microcaps you might never have heard of, if you don't live close to where they do business. Apart from Jazz and Exact Sciences, none of these companies had a market cap of more than $30 million 10 years ago. Even now, you'd be hard-pressed to find many people who know about these stocks -- or the stellar gains they've given their investors since early 2009.