Willdan Group

Revenue climbed about 20 percent over the past year as utilities and cities rushed to modernize aging power systems. That demand is not a fad. Electricity use is climbing for the first time in decades, and someone has to do the physical work of upgrading the grid.

Willdan now keeps about 8 percent of every dollar of revenue as actual profit, a real improvement for a business that used to run on thin margins. They are winning bigger, longer projects and getting more efficient at delivering them. Growing sales and improving profitability at the same time is a tough combination to pull off.

The vast majority of Willdan's roughly 20 percent revenue growth comes from government agencies and regulated utilities. Those customers pay reliably, but they also move slowly. One budget cut, one delayed program approval, or one change in political priorities can push millions of dollars of work out by a year.

At about 1.1 billion dollars in value, Willdan is tiny next to the engineering giants bidding on the same contracts. Those rivals can undercut them on price or poach their engineers. The stock also swings a bit harder than the overall market, with a beta of 1.16, so expect a bumpier ride.