It’s good to be on the Coins2Day 500, great to be a repeat performer, but even better to have made a big leap since last year. These 15 companies have risen more spots in the last year than any of the rest. They’re the hottest companies of the 2015 Coins2Day 500, and some of them you know—Facebook, Salesforce—but some of them you may not.
1. SpartanNash
This Michigan wholesale food distributor had a banner year, moving up an astounding 452 spots in rank, from the 800s to the 300s. With $7.91 billion in 2014 revenue, the company is No. 359 this year.
2. NGL Energy Partners
NGL provides a wide range of energy services, including marketing, storage, and distribution of crude oil—and this year it jumped a wide range of slots on our Coins2Day 500. The Tulsa-based company shot up 257 slots, from No. 566 to No. 299, thanks to $9.70 billion in 2014 revenue.
3. Packaging Corporation of America
This manufacturer of packaging materials, based out of Lake Forest, Ill., is the third-biggest producer of freesheet in North America. (What is freesheet? Paper that is less than 10% groundwood pulp.) PCA’s strong performance over the last year rocketed it 189 slots from No. 640 to No. 451. It took in $5.85 billion in 2014 revenue.
4. Arris Group
Chances are good that you’ve seen the name Arris on a cable modem or small box sitting atop someone’s TV. The company makes video and broadband hardware, and it’s up 152 slots this year, from No. 644 to No. 492, with $5.32 billion in annual revenue.
5. Gilead Sciences
Gilead is a biotechnology company that develops and sells commercial pharmaceuticals. Gilead sat out a recent M&A frenzy in the pharma space, but continues to grow: This year it jumps 132 spots, from No. 250 to No. 118. It had $24.90 billion in revenue last year—the largest of any of the 15 companies on this shortlist.
6. Trinity Industries
Trinity is an industrial company with diverse holdings—it has its hands in energy, transportation, construction, and other sectors. The Dallas-based company leapt 126 slots on this year’s list, moving from No. 559 to No. 433 thanks to $6.17 billion in annual revenue.
7. Murphy Oil
Courtesy of Murphy Oil
This Louisiana oil and gas company (not to be confused with popular Murphy Oil Soap, a Colgate-Palmolive household cleaner) chugged from No. 470 to No. 350 this year, a 120-slot rise. It had $8.26 billion in 2014 revenue.
8. Lithia Motors
You may not be familiar with this Medford, Oregon-headquartered auto dealership, but it’s the seventh largest in the U.S. It sold enough cars to drive up 120 slots, from No. 602 to No. 482 this year. Lithia had $5.40 billion in revenue last year.
9. Devon Energy
Based in Oklahoma, Devon is one of the largest producers of natural gas in the world, and it thrived in 2014, bringing in $19.57 billion in revenue last year and moving up 118 slots from No. 270 to No. 152.
10. Salesforce
Photograph by Brittany McLaren for Coins2Day
Business is good at the cloud computing giant Marc Benioff built to help businesses manage their customers. Salesforce jumped up 116 slots in rank, from No. 599 to No. 483, and had $5.37 billion in annual revenue.
11. Micron Technology
Don’t say the USB stick is dead yet. This Boise, Idaho maker of semiconductors and flash memory drives did so well in 2014 ($16.36 billion in revenue) that it rose 112 slots from No. 302 on last year’s list to No. 190 on this year’s ranking. Those are hot wires.
12. Pioneer Natural Resources
Things are good for yet another oil and gas player: This independent one, based in Irving, Tx., is up 109 slots, moving from No. 609 into the Coins2Day 500 (barely) at No. 496, courtesy of $5.30 billion in revenue.
13. Advance Auto Parts
Here’s a business you might know by its ubiquitous radio ads. Advance Auto Parts sells (what else?) Auto parts, and it sold enough of them in 2014 to bring in $9.84 billion in revenue and leap 108 spots, from No. 402 to No. 294.
14. Facebook
To think that just two years ago Facebook made its Coins2Day 500 debut, when CEO Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t even 30 yet. Last year, its second year on the list, Facebook clocked in at No. 341. This year it reached No. 242, a leap of 99 slots. It had $12.47 billion in revenue. Do you “like” that?
15. Molina Healthcare
Molina, which offers government-based healthcare programs and is based in Long Beach, California, had a big year, climbing 92 slots on the Coins2Day 500, from the bottom of the 300s (No. 393) to the top (No. 301 this year) with $9.67 billion in revenue.
