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Recent Press Releases (U.S. and international) for magazine issues and staff changes may be found below. Please note that for many issues there exists only a highlights sheet, while for others there may also be a full press release. The cover of FORTUNE's current issue is pictured at right. Please contact the appropriate communications staff member with any questions.
FORTUNE ANNOUNCES THE 100 FASTEST-GROWING COMPANIES, 2006
New York, September 5, 2006—FORTUNE announced today its 16 th annual list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. Topping the ranking is Vaalco Energy of Houston , an exploration and production company that saw profits soar at an astonishing rate of 147% annually over the past three years, while its stock returned a total of 906%. Rounding out the top ten are Hansen Natural (No. 2), beverage maker and producer of the Monster energy drink; Armor Holdings (No. 3), which supplies in-demand body armor globally; Southern Copper (No. 4), LCA-Vision (No. 5), LASIK surgery provider and operator of 55 U.S. centers; Palomar Medical Technologies (No. 6), whose light and laser devices are used in cosmetic skin treatments; Amedisys (No. 7), a leading home-nursing-care and hospice specialist; Edge Petroleum (No. 8), Maverick Tube (No. 9), which makes pipes for oil and gas wells; and Nucor Corp (No. 10), the nation's biggest steelmaker. The Fastest-Growing list and related stories appear in the September 18 issue of FORTUNE, available on newsstands September 11 and at www.CNNMoney.com on September 5.
This year's list illustrates a few things. One is that sustaining growth at these levels isn't easy—only 43 of the 100 companies from last year's list made the grade again this year—another is that being in the right place at the right time can be just as important as how you run your business. The latest example: In 2005, oil prices averaged $52 a barrel, up from $38 a barrel in 2004. And now, almost a third of the companies on this year's list are in the energy sector. “The petro-fication of our 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list continues apace,” says FORTUNE reporter Jenny Mero in her introduction to the list. “Each year our ranking provides a snapshot of America 's economy, and this year the picture is drenched in oil.”
However, oil is hardly the whole story. Computer and biotech firms make their usual strong showing, and there are some surprising names, like Chicago Mercantile Exchange, (No. 81). Powered by its popular Eurodollar contract and other financial products, the 108-year-old Merc has been burning up the track since it went public in 2002 with its stock gaining 619% in three years. Giving more evidence that the housing bubble is rapidly deflating, only two homebuilders made the cut: Toll Brothers (No. 98), and Meritage Homes (No. 99). Last year there were four homebuilders and two land developers on the list.
As the homebuilders demonstrate, sustaining the kind of explosive growth needed to win a place in the rankings is nearly impossible. But for those keeping score, Chico 's (No. 100) and Cognizant (no. 31) tie for the longest streak on the list, with four consecutive years. Apple and Google are two of the fastest growers around these days, but neither one is on the list. Thanks to robust growth led by the iPod, Apple was slated to make its very first appearance. But the company has announced that it will probably have to restate earnings because of questions about the timing of stock option grants, so it was dropped. Google just needs more time: It has been a public company for only two years, and the threshold for the Fastest-Growing list is three. To compute the rankings, FORTUNE uses data from Zacks Investment Research and gives equal weight to three factors: profit and sales growth (for three years through the first quarter of 2006) and three-year total return (through June).
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Susan Brown Williams Phil DiIanni
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