3 Market-Beating Stocks for Long-Term Investors

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. Taking that into account, here are three market-beating stocks with room for further growth.

Grand Canyon Education (LOPE)

Five-Year Return: +132%

Founded in 1949, Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) is an educational services provider known for its operation at Grand Canyon University.

Why Are We Positive On LOPE?

1. Highly efficient business model is illustrated by its impressive 26.8% operating margin
2. Stellar returns on capital showcase management’s ability to surface highly profitable business ventures, and its returns are climbing as it finds even more attractive growth opportunities
3. Improving returns on capital reflect management’s ability to monetize investments

Grand Canyon Education is trading at $204 per share, or 22.3x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Waste Management (WM)

Five-Year Return: +99.3%

Headquartered in Houston, Waste Management (NYSE:WM) is a provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America.

Why Do We Like WM?

1. Solid 9.7% annual revenue growth over the last five years indicates its offering’s solve complex business issues
2. Offerings are mission-critical for businesses and lead to a premier gross margin of 38.6%
3. Disciplined cost controls and effective management resulted in a strong long-term operating margin of 17.4%

At $220.10 per share, Waste Management trades at 27.1x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.

Trane Technologies (TT)

Five-Year Return: +257%

With low-pressure heating systems as its first product, Trane (NYSE:TT) designs, manufactures, and sells HVAC and refrigeration systems, the former to commercial and residential building customers and the latter to commercial truck manufacturers.

Why Is TT a Good Business?

1. Impressive 11.1% annual revenue growth over the last two years indicates it’s winning market share this cycle
2. Share repurchases over the last two years enabled its annual earnings per share growth of 22.7% to outpace its revenue gains
3. Stellar returns on capital showcase management’s ability to surface highly profitable business ventures, and its rising returns show it’s making even more lucrative bets

Trane Technologies’s stock price of $414.31 implies a valuation ratio of 30x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.

The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check out our 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 Exlservice (+354% 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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