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.

Long story short, there is a near-perfect correlation between consistent earnings growth and huge winners. Keeping that in mind, here are three market-beating stocks that deserve a spot on your list.

Apple (AAPL)

Five-Year Return: +111%

Creator of the iPhone and App Store, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a legendary developer of consumer electronics and software.

Why Are We Fans of AAPL?

1. Apple's revenue base is so large because nearly everyone in the U.S. has an iPhone, but this is a double-edged sword. Growth must now come from upgrades, a harder pitch that has resulted in sluggish top-line performance recently.
2. Still, Apple's devices have endured for decades, speaking to its brand, design ethos, and technological chops. Its success is rare in the world of consumer electronics, which is fraught because of commoditization, competition, and obsolescence risk.
3. The company may not have the best gross margin because of its hardware orientation, but it still manages to produce elite operating and free cash flow margins. This shows it doesn’t need over-the-top marketing campaigns to convince people to buy its products.

Apple is trading at $236.32 per share, or 31.7x forward price-to-earnings. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Cintas (CTAS)

Five-Year Return: +145%

Starting as a family business collecting and cleaning shop rags in Cincinnati, Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) provides corporate identity uniforms, facility services, and safety products to over one million businesses across North America.

Why Will CTAS Beat the Market?

1. Solid 8.3% annual revenue growth over the last two years indicates its offering’s solve complex business issues
2. Share repurchases over the last five years enabled its annual earnings per share growth of 16.7% to outpace its revenue gains
3. CTAS is a free cash flow machine with the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives or return capital to shareholders

Cintas’s stock price of $199.45 implies a valuation ratio of 41.1x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

OFG Bancorp (OFG)

Five-Year Return: +235%

Originally founded in 1964 as a federal savings and loan institution, OFG Bancorp (NYSE: OFG) provides banking and financial services including commercial and consumer lending, wealth management, insurance, and trust services primarily in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Why Do We Like OFG?

1. Efficiency ratio improved by 10.5 percentage points over the last four years as it scaled
2. Share repurchases have amplified shareholder returns as its annual earnings per share growth of 6.3% exceeded its revenue gains over the last two years
3. Annual tangible book value per share growth of 11.8% over the past five years was outstanding, reflecting strong capital accumulation this cycle

At $43.60 per share, OFG Bancorp trades at 1.4x forward P/B. Is now a good time to buy? Find out 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 Growth Stocks for this month. 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-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% 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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