Imagine choosing a group of stocks that not only weathered the market’s storm but also outpaced its peers. Clearly, a win. Such is the case of these 15 stocks that delivered returns greater than what the market had to offer over the last three years. Before we get down to those top-tier winners, let’s discuss what the broader market index actually is.
This may not be something new to seasoned investors. As one of the most widely known benchmarks of the United States, the S&P Index is considered the best gauge of notable American equities’ performance and the health of the economy, in general. Covering around 80% of market capitalization, the S&P is a float-weighted index, which means that the market capitalizations of all the companies included are adjusted by the volume of shares available for trading publicly. Since it’s an index, you can’t just invest in it directly, but rather you can invest in one of the many funds that use it as a benchmark and measure the overall performance.
As a research report by Alex Frino and David R. Gallagher stated:
“Over long horizons, index funds tracking the index consistently outperform the majority of actively managed funds, reflecting the efficiency of broad-market exposure.”
This highlights that S&P index funds generally deliver better results than most actively managed funds.
If we look at the 5-year trend for the broader market, the index witnessed a growth of around 105%. While this may be a decent growth rate, it’s not something truly amazing. The stocks in the index tumbled in 2022, mainly owing to the FED’s shift in monetary policy, the Russia-Ukraine war, and lingering post-COVID supply chain disruptions. Even after this period, the trendline is not something that would break records or catch an eye. In a span of 3 years, the stocks have witnessed a growth of 32%, which is just decent in this high-growth world.
From energy, agriculture, and finance to gold mining, automotive, technology, and construction industries, the companies have showcased strong returns in a short period. This is a result of favorable macroeconomic policies for these markets, particularly with Trump back in office. The stocks we have favored are the ones featuring good performance in the past, as well as the ones surrounding optimism in the future. Thus, we can safely say that it’s still not too late to invest in these stocks. As the elders used to say, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”
Our Methodology
We have taken a list of 15 companies from Finviz and Yahoo Finance that have witnessed a growth rate of more than 32%, witnessed by the S&P index funds, over three years. These companies then have been listed in descending order, from the highest growth to the lowest growth. The trend line has been captured from Google’s latest stock prices, with respect to the returns of the respective shares.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with hedge funds. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Celestica Inc. (CLS): Among the Stocks That Outperform the Broader Market
A close-up of a circuit board with components depicting the intricate electronic componentry products the company produces.
Celestica Inc. (NYSE:CLS) is a Canada-based supply chain solutions provider across North America, Europe, and Asia. The company has mainly two segments: Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS), and Connectivity & Cloud Solutions (CCS). Incorporated in 1994, Celestica serves a wide clientele including original equipment manufacturers, cloud-based service providers, and companies in aerospace and defense, health, capital equipment, industrial, communication, and enterprise markets. From manufacturing and supply chain services to hardware platform solutions, it has a diverse product portfolio. The company, with a market capitalization of $10.475 billion, is considered an under-the-radar pick.
Celestica Inc. (NYSE:CLS) is one of those stocks that perform quietly but yield solid results. The stock rose by 669% compared to the 32% growth of the market in three years. The growth of its CSS segment, with a contribution of US$6.49b (67% of total revenue), is attributed to the success of the company.
In just one year, Celestica Inc. (NYSE:CLS) has delivered a return of around 92%. This electronics manufacturing services giant is expected to achieve substantial double-digit sales and earnings growth in 2025 and 2026.
There are many reasons to be positive about the stock. One of them is the industry Celestica Inc. (NYSE:CLS) operates in. The company’s CCS segment is immensely successful in harnessing the rise of global data center spending. Industry giants have set aside more than $300 billion to boost their AI infrastructures. This reflects a significant surge in contrast to last year’s accumulated AI CAPEX spending of $246 billion.
Overall, CLS ranks 1st on our list of stocks that outperform the broader market. While we acknowledge the potential for CLS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CLS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
