The Future 50

Every successful business starts with an act of imagination. But the most innovative companies are those that continually reimagine their potential—even if it means embracing radical shifts in strategy. That relentless focus on the future typically pays off handsomely for investors. Three years ago, Fortune teamed up with management consulting firm BCG to create the Future 50, using a proprietary system that analyzes dozens of factors to identify companies with the best long-term growth potential. The 50 companies on last year’s list produced a cumulative shareholder return of 71% since publication vs. 21% for the S&P 500 over the same span. Read on to explore this year’s ranking.

BEHIND THE INDEX METHODOLOGY

The Top Ten

ServiceNow

+2 spotsPrev. #3

Information Technology

An enterprise software firm that helps businesses manage digital workflows, ServiceNow’s stock has been on a tear, rising 108% from its low in April. Though the company now boasts a market cap of $101 billion, it is still consistently growing revenues at or near 30% per quarter. One recent client success story? ServiceNow partnered with the NBA and WNBA to ensure those leagues could operate safely during the pandemic, winning plaudits from NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said, “We would not have been successful without them.” Service Now CEO Bill McDermott (who previously ran SAP) tells Fortune: “The future of work is being redefined. We’re hungry, humble, and passionate about making the world of work, work better for people.”

Veeva Systems

NEW

Health Care

The cloud-computing revolution has at last come for life sciences, thanks to Veeva’s industry-targeted offerings that help companies manage data-intensive processes such as clinical trials, regulatory submissions, and sales operations. The company, which counts leading biopharma companies like Pfizer, GSK, and Moderna as customers, has a market cap of $41 billion and has grown sales at a robust 26% annual rate over the past three years.

Atlassian

+3 spotsPrev. #6

Information Technology

The Australian maker of popular software development, planning, and collaboration tools Jira and Trello has been having a good pandemic. Revenues are up 12.4% since the end of 2019, although the company has forecast slower growth for the coming year. Atlassian’s gross profits have expanded in line with sales, but the need to account for some $889 million in outstanding bonds has dented its earnings, with the company recognizing a net loss in the past three quarters.

Workday

-3 spotsPrev. #1

Information Technology

A dominant force in cloud-based programs for HR management and financial planning, Workday’s reach belies its size. Though it brought in a relatively modest $3.6 billion in revenue in 2019, its customers employ some 45 million people worldwide. Workday’s sales rose 29% last year, and analysts anticipate continued growth as the company expands its suite of tools. Another promising project: helping corporate clients take part in “talent marketplaces” that connect displaced workers with new positions.

Splunk

NEW

Information Technology

Investors have a big appetite for Big Data. Splunk, which helps companies turn data into usable information via A.I. and machine learning, has seen its stock rise an impressive 108% since its low in March. The company, which counts 91 of the Fortune 100 as clients, recently conducted a survey that found 57% of respondents fear that the volume of data is growing faster than their organizations’ ability to keep up. No wonder Splunk’s annual recurring revenue from its cloud subscription business was up 89% in the most recent fiscal quarter.

Adyen

NEW

Information Technology

Amsterdam-based Adyen has built a reputation as the go-to payments provider for businesses that need to operate globally, with customers ranging from McDonald’s to Microsoft to Uber. It can process payments using hundreds of methods and currencies. Adyen uses its own payments infrastructure, combined with machine learning, to minimize chargebacks and fraud. It processed about $284 billion worth of payments in 2019, and experienced 23% growth in payment volumes in the first half of 2020 and a 27% increase in net revenue, despite the pandemic.

MercadoLibre

NEW

Consumer Discretionary

MercadoLibre was already on a tear— with sales up nearly 60% last year—as the biggest player in Latin America’s nascent but fast-growing e-commerce market capitalized on the region’s expanding middle class and its increased access to the Internet. But the pandemic has only turbocharged the company’s growth. Revenue in the third quarter was up 85% year over year to $1.1 billion. The company also offers services like an online payment platform, logistics, and online advertisements. Now it just needs to keep Amazon, which currently has a small presence in its biggest markets, in check.

DexCom

NEW

Health Care

DexCom makes medical devices that regularly track users’ glucose levels and can send those readings to a smartphone. The technology—called continuous glucose monitoring, or CGM—offers an alternative to people with diabetes who have long had to measure their blood sugar through finger-sticking. Adoption of DexCom’s devices drove revenue up 43% last year, but the company is finding a new market during COVID-19. Hospital staffs have been using the devices to remotely monitor COVID patients’ glucose levels. Over the past five years, the stock is up 266%.

Block

-7 spotsPrev. #2

Information Technology

Square, which was once best known for its little white plug-in credit card swipers—as well as being Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s side hustle—has grown into a major force in payments and banking in its own right. With a stock price that has tripled so far in 2020, Square’s market value has surpassed that of Goldman Sachs. What has investors so revved up? Likely its shiny new banking license (approved in March) and its Cash App, a peer-to-peer payments and cryptocurrency-trading service whose rapid growth has made it a rival to PayPal’s Venmo. Next up: a possible acquisition of Credit Karma’s tax-preparation business.

Spotify Technology

-5 spotsPrev. #5

Communication Services

Daniel Ek’s pioneering audio platform has always been a clever piece of Swedish kit—a two-sided marketplace that makes money both from listeners and creators. With the live-entertainment industry on its knees, thanks to a pandemic, Spotify has a fresh window of opportunity to double down on artist services and exclusive content (such as podcasts) and has proved effective at wooing customers away from competitors like Apple.