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3 Market-Beating Stocks with Competitive Advantages

WAB Cover Image

Companies that consistently increase their sales, margins, or returns on capital are usually rewarded with the best returns, and those that can do all three for years on end are almost always the legendary stocks that return 100 times your money.

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

Wabtec (WAB)

Five-Year Return: +222%

Also known as Wabtec, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE: WAB) provides equipment, systems, and related software for the railway industry.

Why Does WAB Stand Out?

  1. Operating profits and efficiency rose over the last five years as it benefited from some fixed cost leverage
  2. Share repurchases over the last two years enabled its annual earnings per share growth of 23% to outpace its revenue gains
  3. Strong free cash flow margin of 12.6% enables it to reinvest or return capital consistently, and its improved cash conversion implies it’s becoming a less capital-intensive business

Wabtec is trading at $245 per share, or 22.8x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Armstrong World (AWI)

Five-Year Return: +85.7%

Started as a two-man shop dating back to the 1860s, Armstrong (NYSE: AWI) provides ceiling and wall products to commercial and residential spaces.

Why Are We Backing AWI?

  1. Impressive 11.9% annual revenue growth over the last two years indicates it’s winning market share this cycle
  2. Performance over the past two years was turbocharged by share buybacks, which enabled its earnings per share to grow faster than its revenue
  3. Free cash flow margin increased by 5.5 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders

At $165.87 per share, Armstrong World trades at 19.7x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

Corning (GLW)

Five-Year Return: +226%

Supplying windows for some of the United States’s earliest spacecraft, Corning (NYSE: GLW) provides glass and other electronic components for the consumer electronics, telecommunications, automotive, and healthcare industries.

Why Do We Watch GLW?

  1. Annual revenue growth of 9.9% over the last two years beat the sector average and underscores the unique value of its offerings
  2. Demand for the next 12 months is expected to accelerate above its two-year trend as Wall Street forecasts robust revenue growth of 15.7%
  3. Earnings growth has massively outpaced its peers over the last two years as its EPS has compounded at 22% annually

Corning’s stock price of $131.41 implies a valuation ratio of 40x 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 for 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 (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

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