By Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch

It’s not Amazon /quotes/zigman/63011/composite AMZN -1.89% . Nor is it Netflix /quotes/zigman/87598/composite NFLX -1.48% . Or even Tesla /quotes/zigman/118681/composite TSLA -3.28% . Of course, all three of those stocks have certainly enriched shareholders in a big way over the past five years. But there’s one, in particular, that has outperformed the rest.
And it’s no tech juggernaut.
LendingTree /quotes/zigman/44542725/composite TREE -1.26% , according to FactSet data, has surged 1,562% over that time frame. to trump all North American stocks. To weed out the penny stocks, FactSet screened global markets for stocks trading over $5 a share with a market cap of at least $500 million back in February 2012.
The online lender has ridden a healing economy and increasing loan demand to big profit growth. The stock is well off its record highs near $150 a share from last year, but it’s still top dog in the region by this metric, beating out mortgage software company Ellie Mae /quotes/zigman/1544102/composite ELLI -1.05% and veterinary products maker Heska /quotes/zigman/2380047/composite HSKA +1.23% in the second and third positions.
LendingTree, however, is runner-up to Europe’s biggest gainer when it comes to the world’s top performer in that period, FactSet noted. Danish biotech Genmab /quotes/zigman/266988/delayed DK:GEN -0.82% has seen its shares explode for a 2,568% return to dwarf all others.
Taking a tour of the leaders in the rest of the regions: Brazilian energy firm Equatorial Energia /quotes/zigman/1495494/delayed BR:EQTL3 -1.06% is tops in South America, with a 160% gain. Over in Asia, food giant SPC Samlip /quotes/zigman/1639884/delayed KR:005610 -0.39% and its $1,327% jump leads the way. Internet and media group Naspers ZA:NPN -0.97% in No. 1 in Africa with a 224% advance, while Domino’s Pizza Enterprise Ltd. /quotes/zigman/378375/delayed AU:DMP -0.13% is the biggest winner in the Pacific thanks to a 505% leap.
































