US Stock Market: Whose Business Has Accelerated the Most?

Toy manufacturer Hasbro turned last year's loss into a powerful profit, growing operating profit by nearly 400% and bringing it to 298 million dollars. At the same time, revenue grew by over 31%, which is a very strong result in the retail sector.

The main engine of this success is the phenomenal sales of "Magic: The Gathering" tabletop games, which grew by a staggering 139%. This shows that a strong and loyal fan base can drive a company's financial results even when the traditional toy market is under pressure.

Data center operator Equinix grew its operating profit by over 300% year-over-year, reaching 422 million dollars. The strong results also gave the company the confidence to raise dividends, which has attracted new institutional investors.

The real reason for the growth is the triumph of artificial intelligence, which requires massive amounts of new server infrastructure. Equinix has successfully met this demand by opening new data centers while keeping energy costs under control through smart deals.

Chipmaker Microchip Technology made a powerful turnaround, turning a previous profit decline into a growth of nearly 391%. The company's sales revenue increased by 15.6%, reaching nearly 1.2 billion dollars.

Behind the turnaround is a strong recovery in distributor orders and the launch of new products for the automotive and industrial sectors. This confirms that the temporary slump in the chip market is passing, and the company's strategy to focus on growing industries is bearing fruit.

Energy group Expand Energy emerged from last year's loss and earned 745 million dollars in operating profit. Revenue grew by over 63% year-over-year, which has also led to positive analyst ratings and a rise in the stock price.

The key to success lies in a recent major merger, which has exponentially increased natural gas production volumes and brought significant cost savings. Synergy effects have made gas production cheaper per unit, directly improving the company's profitability.

Retail chain Kroger showed a 36.6% growth in operating profit, leaving behind the one-off losses of the previous quarter. Although revenue grew by a modest 1.2%, costs were kept almost unchanged.

Behind the growth is a successful strategy shift in e-commerce, where inefficient warehouses were closed and a transition was made to a hybrid model in cooperation with courier companies. This move reduced costs and helped digital sales grow by 20%, proving that smart logistics is of critical importance in retail.

Beverage maker Keurig Dr Pepper reported a 1298% growth in operating profit and a 10.5% increase in sales revenue. At the same time, the stock price has fallen because the company took on significant debt to finance a new major deal.

Although the company's core business and soft drink sales are strong, the massive growth percentage is misleading, as it stems from the absence of large accounting write-downs from the previous year. Investors should focus here on stable sales growth rather than a profit figure inflated by one-off factors.

Kraft Heinz's operating profit showed an extraordinary 2810% growth on paper, turning from last year's loss into a profit of over a billion dollars. At the same time, however, the company's actual sales revenue fell by 3.4%.

This is a classic example of an accounting illusion – the massive growth stems solely from the fact that 1.3 billion dollars worth of assets were written off last year. Since actual demand for the products is decreasing and the future forecast is weak, this is more of a warning sign than a success story.

Real estate fund UDR reported a 241.5% growth in operating profit, which at first glance seems like an excellent result. At the same time, the company's stock has remained under pressure and future forecasts are rather modest.

Unlike other success stories, this growth did not come from the expansion of daily business operations, but from the revenue of a one-off real estate sale. Since the growth of the company's core business is actually slowing down and the debt burden is high, this number does not reflect long-term sustainable growth.