No. 1 Priceline.com

Bloomberg

No. 1 Priceline.com

E-Commerce
PCLN
Value of investment: $101,190.48*

5-year return: 911.9%
2009 revenues: $2.3 billion
2009 net income: $489.5 million

The big surprise on our list is at the top. No. 1: Priceline.com. This online discount travel agency nearly died in the dot-com bust and again in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Thanks to the management smarts of CEO Jeffery R. Boyd, who took over the top job in 2002, the company reinvented itself and went on to score a total return of 911.9 percent for shareholders over the past five years.

*For all slides as of 3/31/10