Stocks that outperform the market usually share key traits such as rising sales, expanding margins, and increasing returns on capital. The select few that can do all three for many years are often the ones that make you life-changing money.

It’s clear there’s a strong connection between sustained earnings growth and hall-of-fame returns. Taking that into account, here are three market-beating stocks with room for further growth.

PTC (PTC)

Five-Year Return: +143%

Used to design the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner commercial airplanes, PTC’s (NASDAQ: PTC) software-as-service platform helps engineers and designers create and test products before manufacturing.

Why Could PTC Be a Winner?

1. User-friendly software enables clients to ramp up spending quickly, leading to the speedy recovery of customer acquisition costs
2. Highly efficient business model is illustrated by its impressive 30% operating margin, and its operating leverage amplified its profits over the last year
3. PTC is a free cash flow machine with the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives or return capital to shareholders

PTC’s stock price of $213 implies a valuation ratio of 9.1x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.

Eli Lilly (LLY)

Five-Year Return: +342%

Founded in 1876 by a Civil War veteran and pharmacist frustrated with the poor quality of medicines, Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) discovers, develops, and manufactures pharmaceutical products for conditions including diabetes, obesity, cancer, immunological disorders, and neurological diseases.

Why Is LLY a Good Business?

1. Market share has increased this cycle as its 34.3% annual revenue growth over the last two years was exceptional
2. Enormous revenue base of $53.26 billion gives it economies of scale and advantages over new entrants due to the industry’s regulatory complexity
3. Share buybacks catapulted its annual earnings per share growth to 21.6%, which outperformed its revenue gains over the last five years

Eli Lilly is trading at $662.86 per share, or 24.6x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

ADP (ADP)

Five-Year Return: +119%

Processing one out of every six paychecks in the United States, ADP (NASDAQ: ADP) provides cloud-based human capital management solutions that help businesses manage payroll, benefits, talent acquisition, and HR administration.

Why Should You Buy ADP?

1. Solid 7.1% annual revenue growth over the last five years indicates its offering’s solve complex business issues
2. Robust free cash flow margin of 20.6% gives it many options for capital deployment, and its growing cash flow gives it even more resources to deploy
3. Rising returns on capital show management is finding more attractive investment opportunities

At $304.10 per share, ADP trades at 28x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 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 for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today

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