8. Apple

Apple

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 52%
Profit Growth: 70%
Total Return: 60%

Some had worried that the loss of Steve Jobs might hinder the seemingly relentless forward march of Apple. They needn’t have. Since Jobs passed away last year, Apple’s share price has risen almost 80%. In August, the iPhone maker overtook Microsoft as the largest-ever U.S. company by stock-market value. The only negative spot so far this year came when the company fell short of Wall Street’s expectations with a rare earnings miss in the third quarter due to lower-than-expected iPhone sales. That said, the 26 million iPhones sold still represented a 22% increase over the same period in 2011 – not too shabby, considering the hotly anticipated release of the iPhone 5 may have delayed purchases by some holdouts. Sales of the iPad hit a record in the last quarter, up 84% year-on-year, but the iPhone remains the undisputed king of growth at Apple. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: AAPL Revenue ($ millions): $142,360
Net Income ($ millions): $38,617
Sectors: Technology

7. Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 237%
Profit Growth: 122%
Total Return: 36%

Riding high on the hydraulic fracturing wave, Northern Oil and Gas went on a spending spree last year, snapping up properties in the Bakken and Three Forks plays of North Dakota and Montana. By the end of 2011, the company’s proved reserves were up 198% from where they were at the end of 2010. This year, first and second quarter sales were up 151% and 99% year-on-year, respectively, as production was ramped up to capitalize on rising oil prices. And there’s no sign of any slowdown. Northern Oil completed another 162 wells in the second quarter, bringing their total number of producing wells to 955, with an additional 150 in the works. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: NOG Revenue ($ millions): $212
Net Income ($ millions): $56
Sectors: Energy

6. lululemon athletica

lululemon athletica

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 45%
Profit Growth: 81%
Total Return: 109%

When is a pair of yoga pants not just a pair of yoga pants? For some fashion-conscious folk, the small-yet-distinctive Lululemon signature squiggle is what sets them apart. Moving into the top 10 (up seven spots from where it first appeared on last year’s list) this maker of long-lasting, cut-above yoga apparel continues to impress. Revenue surged 41% in 2011 which management attributed to the addition of 41 new stores and existing-store sales growth of 22%. The Vancouver-based outfit ditched the franchise model and now has more than 180 corporate-owned locations in Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Lululemon has also been increasing its online presence which, the company says, is an increasingly important part of its growth strategy, now representing more than 10% of net revenue. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: LULU Revenue ($ millions): $1,100
Net Income ($ millions): $197
Sectors: Retail

5. HFF

HFF

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 41%
Profit Growth: 341%
Total Return: 53%

While the housing market continued to languish through its multi-year torpor last year, U.S. commercial real estate bounced back, as easier financing terms and improving yields on rents enticed investors back into the market. This left HFF, a self-described “leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services” with “local real estate expertise,” well positioned to take advantage of the surge in activity. The company said it benefited from a 45% increase in production volume in its capital markets services, which include debt placement, structured finance, investment banking and advisory services. HFF recorded a 24% increase in revenue in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2011. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: HF Revenue ($ millions): $265
Net Income ($ millions): $39
Sectors: Other

4. HollyFrontier

HollyFrontier

 

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 51%
Profit Growth: 93%
Total Return: 64%

In July 2011, oil refiners Holly Corporation and Frontier Oil finalized a highly synergistic merger that created a super refiner with operations throughout the mid-continent, south western and Rocky Mountain regions. The new HollyFrontier Corp. was quick to capitalize on an unprecedented glut of oil that had come about at land-locked Cushing, Oklahoma. The net effect of this year-long anomaly was to hand a considerable raw-materials cost advantage to refiners that sourced their crude inland rather than from the coast. Among them: HollyFrontier, which recorded a 90% increase in revenue in 2011, swiftly followed by a 185% hike in revenue in the first quarter. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: HFC Revenue ($ millions): $18,045
Net Income ($ millions): $1,180
Sectors: Energy

3. Baidu

Baidu

 3-yearaverage:

Revenue Growth: 72%
Profit Growth: 99%
Total Return: 56%

Although the name Baidu literally means “hundreds of times,” this Chinese company’s search engine is used many millions of times every day. The Chinese equivalent of Google, Baidu boasts a whopping 79% share of the search-engine market in China. Its search engine was also recently added as an option on iPhones and iPads in China, which should further cement its leading position. In recent times Baidu has branched out from internet search, launching its own internet web browser and smartphone. However, like Google, almost all of Baidu’s revenue is generated through search advertising. The company has recorded solid, double-digit profit growth over the past year. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: BIDU Revenue ($ millions): $2,571
Net Income ($ millions): $1,173
Sectors: Technology

2, Cirrus Logic

Cirrus Logic

3-year average:

Revenue Growth: 39%
Profit Growth: 450%
Total Return: 88%

There’s a good chance you own something that has a Cirrus Logic-designed audio chip embedded in it. As a major supplier to Apple, the company has been on a roll for a while, recording 27%, 67% and 15% respective revenue growth in the past three fiscal years, which Cirrus attributes to increased sales of portable audio products. Cirrus shares have more than doubled in value over the past 12 months, touching prices not seen since 2002. The Austin, Texas-based concern also makes integrated circuits for the energy industry, although that revenue line took a 27% hit in fiscal 2012. Growth at Cirrus now looks to be firmly tied to Apple and its audio chips. -- N.S.

Get stock quote: CRUS Revenue ($ millions): $427
Net Income ($ millions): $88
Sectors: Technology

1. Silver Wheaton

Silver Wheaton

3-year average:
Revenue Growth: 76%
Profit Growth: 340%
Total Return: 49%

It’s a little-known fact that most silver is produced as a by-product of something else -- meaning the people who mine it don’t actually want it. As a “silver-streaming” company, Silver Wheaton enters into silver-purchase agreements with miners where the company contracts to buy all or part of the mined silver. To date the company has signed 14 long-term silver-purchase agreements at roughly $4 an ounce. It’s that simple – buy low, sell high. Silver Wheaton posted record sales and revenues in the first and second quarters and says it is on track for its “best year ever.” -- Niamh Sweeney, contributor

Get stock quote: SLW Revenue ($ millions): $771
Net Income ($ millions): $575
Sectors: Mining