1000% Return Portfolio: 10 CEO Interviews Explain How It’s Done

A 1000% return on a stock portfolio is not a common occurrence.

These 10 Wall Street Transcript Interviews with the CEOs of companies that have achieved the rare 1000% return are an illustration of the results of hard work, perseverance and innovation.

Patrick Smith, CEO and Founder, Axon Enterprise [AXON]

TASER International, now known as Axon Enterprise [ticker: AXON] has been led by founder Patrick Smith who discusses his company in this interview published November 22, 2013. 

“While living in Europe, two of Mr. Smith’s high school friends were shot and killed in a road-rage incident in Arizona…in 1991, Mr. Smith set out to develop alternative technologies that would allow people to protect themselves, but without killing.…”

Many other Wall Street Transcript interviews with Mr. Smith are available which detail his strategy for achieving over a 1000% return for his investors. 

Andy Marsh, CEO, Plug Power [ticker symbol: PLUG]

Plug Power operates in the broadly defined “alternative energy” industry. This company creates warehouse mobility systems – forklifts and the like – using a proprietary hydrogen fuel cell technology. CEO Andy Marsh first interviewed with the Wall Street Transcript in June of 2009 when his company was trading at $10 per share. By February of 2013, the company was trading at 13 cents per share.  The increase to 1000% return and beyond began soon thereafter with a business model change.

In his Wall Street Transcript interview in February of 2014, Andy Marsh stated “Plug Power sells fuel cells, which power forklift trucks. And that’s what I’ve told you over the last three, four years, but the business has really expanded over the past six months where today we actually sell full turnkey solutions for distribution centers and manufacturers”.

At one point during 2021 PLUG traded over $63 per share, rewarding those investors who believed in this fuel cell pioneer, and Andy Marsh continues to interview with the Wall Street Transcript, most recently in 2020.

Peter Pascali, CEO, PyroGenesis [PYR

Another transformation from product to platform has driven the 1000% stock returns for PyroGenesis formerly the Pyr Energy Corporation. Originally a Canadian oil and gas exploration company, the CEO in 2001 explained his strategy in this August interview with the Wall Street Transcript.

By 2016 the CEO was Peter Pascali and this April interview from that year describes the continuing evolution of the company: “…a number of years ago, we were being slotted as a very successful environmental company basically servicing the U.S. military; however, we said we could bring our plasma expertise to other industries. 

We decided to see what other industries might benefit from the application of plasma processes. We looked at the oil and gas, mining and metallurgical, and 3D printing, which are things that are close to home, and lo and behold, we found that these industries had not really had the benefit of considering plasma solutions for various problems.”

By December of 2016 the company was trading at 16 cents per share. Today, the shares are over $3 per share and have traded well above $6 per share at certain points this year.

James Cline, CEO and President, Trex Company [TREX]

This company is creating global environmental benefits through technological innovation. In March of 2014, the Trex strategy of converting plastic bags to building materials was described as being based upon the “benefits of the high-performance composite, the second generation material, is that it’s scratch-, stain-, fade- and mold-resistant, and it includes a 25-year fade and stain warranty.”

By April of 2018, the CEO James Cline declared in this interview with the Wall Street Transcript that his management team “came to the conclusion that this is a consumer products company who happens to sell building products.”

From $8 per share in 2014, TREX is trading today at over $132 per share.

John Fieldly, CEO, Celsius Holdings [CELH]

Another consumer products company and a more recent new member to the 1000% return stock club is Celsius Holdings, whose CEO interviewed with the Wall Street Transcript in February of 2016 when the stock closed the trading day at $1.70/share.

More recently, CEO John Fieldly has guided his energy drink company to a value of over $100 per share as recently as November of 2021 and gave his strategy for future growth in this April, 2021 interview.

Richard Thompson, former CEO Freshpet [FRPT]

The pet industry has seen a sharp upturn over the last several years with many high return companies participating in this sector. In 2015, the CEO of Freshpet, Richard Thompson, declared in his Wall Street Transcript interview that his newly public company will “bring a completely different idea to the marketplace.”

By February of 2016, the stock price had declined to less than $6 per share and Mr. Thompson was out, replaced by the Board of Directors after an executive search in July of that year with William “Billy” Cyr. By April of 2021, the stock had passed $180 per share and still stands at about half that.  

William Doyle, Executive Chairman and former CEO, Novocure [NVCR]

Everyone loves a cure for cancer and a company that innovates an entirely new method of treatment is a good candidate for 1000% return stocks.

In July of 2016, William Doyle declared in his interview with the Wall Street Transcript that when Novocure “first went to the FDA, this was completely new and something that had never been thought of before. They had us start in the brain with patients who had failed existing therapies and had no hope.”

Currently the company has a run rate of over $500 million in revenue per year in revenues and the stock has gone from $8 per share to over $80.

Terry Gregg, former Executive Chairman and CEO, Dexcom [DXCM]

Diabetes has been an accelerating disease phenomenon globally. In the US alone, over 10% of the population is estimated to suffer from its effects.

In his June, 2014 interview with the Wall Street Transcript, Terry Gregg, the CEO of Dexcom remarked that “this isn’t my first time in a high-growth company. When I was the President and Chief Operating Officer of MiniMed, it went from $30 million in sales to close to $400 million, and we sold that business to Medtronic [ticker: MDT] for $3.4 billion back in 2001.”

The stock was trading at $40 per share. 

Terry Grigg transitioned to executive chairman that next January in 2015 and was replaced by Kevin Sayer who is still the CEO of Dexcom, which traded as high as $659 per share in 2021.

Anthony Makuch, CEO, Kirkland Lake Gold [ticker symbol: KL]

No list of 1000% return stocks would be complete without a gold mining company.  

In December of 2016, the President and CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold, Anthony Makuch, interviewed with the Wall Street Transcript: “I was born in the mining industry. My father worked in mines, and I grew up in the mining town in Timmins, and that’s what I did for summer jobs…in preparing me for my role, it’s been about 30 years of a variety of roles and at different mining operations.”

From $4 and change in December of 2016, Kirkland Lake reached well above $50 per share in 2020 and is currently trading well above $40 per share.

Paul Nahi, former CEO of Enphase [ENPH], current CEO Solidspac3

In January 2015, then CEO Paul Nahi stated that “the distributed generation of solar and energy management trends are a tidal wave that’s hitting the energy markets right now. Combine that with a proven Silicon Valley hardware model, investors should find Enphase attractive and interesting.” 

The stock price took a roundabout route to its 1000% return however, bottoming out as a penny stock in the spring and summer of 2017 and Mr. Nahi was replaced as CEO by Badri Kothandaraman by September of 2017. From that point on, Enphase has gone on a run and at one point in 2021 was over $280 per share

1000% return business strategies are detailed in the complete interviews with these CEOs and many more only at the Wall Street Transcript.

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