What are we looking for?
As the decade winds down, Number Cruncher is digging through the years of data and trying to unearth a few of the winners in the Canadian markets.
Yesterday, we took a look at earnings and today we're turning our eye to revenue growth.
While it's possible to increase earnings without expanding your business - see, for example, some companies that slashed costs to wait out the recession - over the long run, it is harder to show revenue gains without organic growth or acquisitions.
More about today's screen
The universe of stocks here comprises the S&P/TSX composite index today.
We're using Capital IQ's market data and stock screening tool to find the companies that have posted a 10-year compound annual growth rate of better than 30 per cent when it comes to total revenue.
There may be other more salient measures for some stocks (i.e. free cash flow for oil firms), but we're using total revenue growth as the broadest comparable measure across all sectors.
We've also used Capital IQ to pull compound annual growth rates for diluted earnings per share and dividends, as well as revenue growth over the past twelve months and a forecast for the next twelve months.
Share price and market capitalization data are from Globe Investor. Bloomberg provided the 10-year share price gains and total returns.
What did we find?
It's been a good run for companies that take things out of the ground and sell them elsewhere.
Ten years ago, crude oil was trading at just $25 (U.S.) a barrel. It's run to $80 a barrel now means that energy companies have a lot more cash coming in the door. And, as it was when we looked at earnings, the development of the Canadian oil sands remains a dominant theme.
At the very top of the list, HudBay Minerals Inc.'s flagship Flin Flon mine came on stream in 2004, helping its top line grow sharply.
Mid-decade acquisitions gave Lundin Mining Corp. an edge before the credit crunch set in.