• Home
  • Latest
  • Coins2Day 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
LeadershipFastest-Growing Companies

Four decades-old companies that are growing like start-ups

Matthew Heimer
By
Matthew Heimer
Matthew Heimer
Executive Editor, Features
Down Arrow Button Icon
Matthew Heimer
By
Matthew Heimer
Matthew Heimer
Executive Editor, Features
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 19, 2015, 2:15 PM ET
19047358
Engl.: USA, North Dakota, Bakken formation, fracking, hydraulic fracturing, oil boom, oil production, oil industry, crude oil, economy, Buffalo Wild Wings a new sportsbar/restaurant catering to the oil industry-fuelled boom in the workforce and population in Williston || North Dakota oil boom. Based around the town of Williston, hydraulic fracturing, also known as 'fracking' has enabled a vast reserve of previously unobtainable oil to be accessed.Photograph by Dermot Tatlow—laif/Redux

The ascendancy of technology in America’s corporate hierarchy has conditioned us to equate “fast-growing” with “new.” When you hear that a business has logged profit and sales growth of 15% or more for three years in a row (the table stakes for joining Coins2Day’s Fastest-Growing Companies list), it’s easy to assume it’s rising on an updraft of innovation—thanks to a groundbreaking chip, a must-have “wearable,” or the Uber of something or other.

Look more closely at many other fast growers, however, and you’ll find stories of endurance rewarded—of businesses that performed just fine for decades before bigger shifts in the economy and culture helped them turbocharge their growth.

Homebuilder NVR (NVR), for example, stuck with a cautious real estate strategy for 15 years before the housing crash and subsequent recovery made it pay off.

Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) was a steadily growing restaurant chain for a quarter-century, but the rise of fantasy sports and the paleo diet enabled it to become an appetizer-fueled juggernaut.

These companies and the two others featured here, water-management giant Ecolab (ECL) and retailer Ulta Beauty (ULTA), have near-term futures as promising as their recent pasts, and they demonstrate that in business, eye-catching blossoms are often attached to deep roots.

Fastest-Growing Companies: Ones to Watch
• NVR
• Buffalo Wild Wings
• Ulta Beauty
• Ecolab

To see the list of our top 100 Fastest-Growing Companies, visit coins2day.com/100-fastest-growing-companies.

A version of this article appears in the September 1, 2015 issue of Coins2Day magazine with the headline “Seizing Their Moment.”

About the Author
Matthew Heimer
By Matthew HeimerExecutive Editor, Features
Instagram iconTwitter icon

Matt Heimer oversees Coins2Day's longform storytelling in digital and print and is the editorial coordinator of Coins2Day magazine. He is also a co-chair of the Coins2Day Global Forum and the lead editor of Coins2Day's annual Change the World list.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Coins2Day Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Coins2Day 500
  • Global 500
  • Coins2Day 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Coins2Day Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Coins2Day Brand Studio
  • Coins2Day Analytics
  • Coins2Day Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Coins2Day
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

sternfels
CommentaryConsulting
AI makes human intelligence more important, not less 
By Bob Sternfels and Lucy PerezJanuary 22, 2026
9 hours ago
Building with a Deloitte company sign
Future of WorkConsulting
Deloitte to scrap traditional job titles as AI ushers in a ‘modernization’ of the Big Four
By Jake AngeloJanuary 22, 2026
10 hours ago
rhode island
PoliticsToys
No more Mr. Potato Head license plates: Rhode Island mulls revenge after getting ditched by Hasbro
By Kimberlee Kruesi and The Associated PressJanuary 22, 2026
10 hours ago
NewslettersEye on AI
OpenAI’s former head of sales is entering VC. She still calls herself an ‘AGI sherpa’
By Sharon GoldmanJanuary 22, 2026
10 hours ago
Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase speaks onstage during day 2 of the America Business Forum at Kaseya Center on November 06, 2025 in Miami, Florida.
PoliticsTariffs and trade
Jamie Dimon is done being ‘binary’: On Trump’s ‘economic disaster’ credit card plan, foreign policy, and NATO
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 22, 2026
11 hours ago
sweden
Personal FinanceTaxes
Sweden abolished its wealth tax 20 years ago. Then it became a ‘paradise for the super-rich’
By Miranda Sheild Johansson and The ConversationJanuary 22, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'Some form of crisis is almost inevitable': The $38 trillion national debt will soon be growing faster than the U.S. economy itself, watchdog warns
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 22, 2026
10 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction are about to be unlocked because someone needs to build all these new AI centers
By Preston ForeJanuary 21, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Jamie Dimon tells Davos: ‘You didn’t do a particularly good job making the world a better place’
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 21, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Jamie Dimon says he’d have no issue paying higher taxes if it actually went to people who need it. Right now it just goes to the Washington ‘swamp’
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 21, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Elon Musk says that in 10 to 20 years, work will be optional and money will be irrelevant thanks to AI and robotics
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 19, 2026
4 days ago
placeholder alt text
Energy
Elon Musk warns the U.S. could soon be producing more chips than we can turn on. And China doesn’t have the same issue
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 22, 2026
11 hours ago

© 2026 Coins2Day Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Coins2Day Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.