Investors betting against the US stock market have fared badly over the past decade, with the S&P 500 trouncing other major global indices. The index’s return has been twice as good as its nearest competitor, Japan’s Nikkei 225, over this period.

In fact, US markets have beaten global (ex-US) indices for 30 of the past 50 years – and 13 of the past 15, according to RBC Brewin Dolphin. This appreciation has led to a substantial valuation gap. At the end of June, US large-cap shares were trading at a cyclically adjusted price/earnings (CAPE) ratio of 37.3, compared with 19.3 for developed (ex-US) large caps, according to Alex Pickard, senior vice-president at Research Affiliates.

There are obvious reasons for this – US large caps have delivered annualised real returns of 10.3 per cent over a trailing 10-year period, compared with just 3.9 per cent for their developed market peers, he notes.

Yet “rising protectionism, fiscal imbalances and weakening demand for the US dollar and Treasuries” mean investors are already starting to look elsewhere, according to Aviva Investors.

All of which, when coupled with the increasing concentration of the US market, means it makes sense to look elsewhere for opportunities. So we did.

We have run screens on 65 of the larger and more liquid global markets, seeking companies that provided some of the highest total shareholder returns over a 10-year period.

Returns were measured in US dollars to avoid markets where outsized nominal returns are merely the result of very high inflation and rapidly devaluing currencies. Companies with the highest absolute returns that have already become household names, such as Germany’s Rheinmetall (DE:RHM), are excluded.

We have chosen one company per country, and deliberately focus on larger entities with a decent chunk of free-floating shares to ensure enough liquidity.

The result is a diverse group of companies that include an Australian gold miner, a Korean noodle-maker and a Polish games developer.

Each has achieved a compound annual return of at least 25 per cent in dollar terms over the past decade. Of course, the usual caveat should be added that such screens are generally backward-looking, and it is rare for companies to maintain such strong growth rates over long periods.

Another obvious reason for caution is that these companies’ strong returns mean, in many cases, that they too trade on elevated valuations. We have taken this into account in the analysis below. In any case, the purpose of the list is to be a source of ideas for those looking at overseas shares beyond the US, and those keen to find out more about the most successful under-the-radar companies of the past decade.

All figures are as at 16 July and taken from FactSet.

Given a 200 per cent increase in the gold price in US dollar terms over the past 10 years, it’s hardly surprising that a gold miner made this list. That Capricorn Metals (AU:CMM) has delivered a cumulative annual return of almost 60 per cent – compared with a sector average for listed gold miners of 16 per cent – shows this hasn’t been achieved just by betting on prospects for the yellow metal.

Over the past decade, Capricorn has gone from being a lossmaking mining prospect to an established operator. In the financial year that closed last month, its Karlawinda gold mine in Western Australia produced 117,000 ounces (oz) of gold, which was at the top end of expectations.

The mine’s all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of about A$1,420 (£680) means it’s currently throwing off lots of cash given an average sale price of A$4,603 per oz in the third quarter. Capricorn is ploughing some of the proceeds into reopening Mt Gibson – another mine in Western Australia that closed in 1999 when the gold price fell below A$500 per oz. With the current price at 10 times this level, Capricorn’s management thinks the company can earn a post-capex, pre-tax gross profit of $3,300 an oz on reopening, meaning it would be capable of generating free cash flow of A$3.2bn over its 17-year lifespan.

Bringing Mt Gibson back would be relatively low-risk, says David Coates, an analyst with investment bank Bell Potter. However, at its current market capitalisation of A$4.1bn he views Capricorn as “well valued”.

Instant noodles are not a new phenomenon. They were invented in the late 1950s by Japan’s Nissin Foods, making their first UK appearance in the 1970s when Golden Wonder launched Pot Noodles. In recent years, though, it is South Korea’s Samyang Foods (KR:003230) that has taken the market by storm with its super-spicy Buldak brand.

Buldak has been embraced in the US, where Samyang only started selling four years ago but which now generates more than a fifth of its sales. It has become a favourite among younger consumers, boosted by a viral TikTok campaign known as the ‘Fire Noodle Challenge’, says Sunny Moon, a research manager at data analytics company Euromonitor International.

“This elevated positioning has translated into pricing power and strong shelf presence,” Moon says.

Samyang Foods’ overseas sales have grown from 57 per cent five years ago to 80 per cent in the first quarter of this year, notes Kwon Woojeong, an analyst at Kyobo Securities. The share price has increased more than 10-fold over the same period, and the shares now trade at 25 times forecast earnings, bringing them just a fraction below analysts’ consensus target price on FactSet.

Argenx (BE:ARGX) is a biotechnology business named after the Argonauts. Whether this is a reference picked up from the third-century-BC Greek poem or the 1963 film that is a stalwart of the festive viewing schedule is not entirely clear, but the source of inspiration for the company is the same – it represents the power of collective efforts to achieve seemingly impossible tasks.

In Argenx’s case, this refers to tackling autoimmune diseases. Revenue almost doubled to €2.2bn (£1.9bn) last year on the back of sales of its first products, Vyvgart and Vyvgart Hytrulo, following US Food and Drug Administration approvals.

Chief executive Tim Van Hauwermeiren and chair Peter Verhaeghe told shareholders that they expect the group “to reach sustainable profitability during 2025”, with the proceeds being used to fund the development of new therapies.

Analysts expect sales of Vyvgart to hit €5.1bn within three years and for Argenx to generate a pre-tax profit of about €2bn off the back of this. So although the shares look expensive at 44 times current-year earnings forecasts, this would fall to 27 times next year and 19 times in 2027 if those targets were met.

Contemporary Amperex Technology, better known as CATL (HK:3750), has been one of the beneficiaries of the boom in Hong Kong listings this year.

The battery-maker, whose above returns are based on its more established listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (CN:300750), raised HK$35.5bn (£3.3bn).

The proceeds are being used to fund a €7.3bn factory in Hungary due to begin production this year. It has also just broken ground on a $6bn plant in Indonesia.

CATL has become the world’s biggest battery-maker for EVs, with a 38 per cent global market share, according to SNE Research. Although it doesn’t supply market leader BYD (HK:1211), it serves almost every other major EV-maker in China, including Tesla Motors (US:TSLA).

Despite heavy levels of investment, the company continues to earn decent margins – the FactSet consensus is for a pre-tax margin of about 19 per cent this year.

An online banking platform with a Swiss banking licence that has expanded its services through partnerships and acquisitions, Swissquote (CH:SQN) moved into forex dealing in 2010 and then derivatives and cryptocurrency trading. Over the past decade, client assets have risen fivefold to SFr76.3bn (£70.7bn), while earnings per share have grown at a compound annual rate of 58 per cent.

But there are signs that expectations are running ahead of earnings momentum. The shares are up 50 per cent in the year to date, bringing Swissquote’s valuation to 24 times FactSet consensus forecasts.

UBS downgraded the shares to a sell last month, with analyst Haley Tam pointing to exchange data showing falls in cryptocurrency trading volumes and competitors reporting slowdowns in activity. Other analysts still rate the company as a buy, but the share price has recently crept above brokers’ consensus target price.

Kitron (NO:KIT) is a manufacturer and assembler of parts with embedded electronics used in a broad range of sectors including telecoms, medical devices and defence. It floated on the Oslo market in the 1990s and now has operations in 11 countries, employing 2,400 staff.

Revenue and profit have been lumpy – in part due to acquisitions, but also due to the whipsawing of demand and availability of parts post-Covid.

Although Kitron reported a 15 per cent fall in revenue last year, group sales are still more than double pre-pandemic levels.

And strong demand from the defence sector – for parts used in drones, communications equipment and radar – meant an uptick in orders and a tightening of guidance around the upper range of expectations.

Although earnings forecasts for this year are improving, they are still expected to be lower than they were two years ago given the company’s reduced revenues. So it is perhaps unsurprising that shares are trading at 27 times earnings – a premium to their long-run average. A 35 per cent increase in the consensus earnings forecast for next year brings the shares back down to a ratio of 20 times, however.

Chapters (DE:CHG) is a software group that has grown by acquiring smaller peers, growing from nine operating companies in 2020 to 48 last year. These serve three main markets: public sector, enterprise and financial technology.

It is the fintech arm that is driving growth. In 2021, Chapters bought an initial stake in Fintiba – a company providing ‘blocked accounts’ to international students and expat workers, who need to show proof of funds as part of their visa requirements.

Having since built that stake up to 55 per cent, the company recently acquired two of Fintiba’s main competitors: Coracle and Expatrio.

The deal has excited investors. Chapters’ shares are up 80 per cent in the year to date, pushing the company’s market capitalisation through the €1bn barrier.

Alexander Zienkowicz, an analyst at MWB Research, expects Chapters’ enlarged fintech business to increase sales from €42mn last year to €55mn this year as it broadens the suite of financial products it offers. Zienkowicz expects Chapters’ earnings per share (EPS) to soar to €1.12 this year, from €0.22 last year.

Toys and gifts retailer Pop Mart (HK:9992) saw its revenue more than double to Rmb13bn (£1.3bn) last year, while pre-tax profit more than trebled to Rmb4.4bn. The reason for this is the runaway success of Labubu – an ugly-looking range of soft toy monsters created by artist Kasing Lung, for which Pop Mart has the global rights.

Pop Mart is riding on the back of what Morgan Stanley analysts described in June as a “global social media bandwagon”, with Google Trends data showing that Labubu “is drawing attention worldwide at a level similar to Harry Potter, Star Wars and Disney”. JPMorgan’s analysts argue that Labubu could become to Pop Mart what Hello Kitty is to Japan’s Sanrio (JP:8136) – a “super IP” that by itself could generate sales of up to Rmb14bn by 2027.

After Labubu’s initial success in Asia, Pop Mart is focusing on boosting sales in North America and Europe this year – overseas revenue rose by 475-480 per cent in the first quarter. Given such numbers, its share price has unsurprisingly soared.

The shares are up 566 per cent over the past 12 months. They trade at a chunky price/earnings (PE) ratio of 38, and a price/sales ratio of 11. Even at this level, there are plenty who argue that it is undervalued – 26 of the 32 analysts covering the stock have a buy or overweight rating, according to FactSet.

“We think Pop Mart will be one of the fastest-growing global brands on record,” Morgan Stanley’s analysts say.

BE Semiconductor (NL:BESI), known as Besi, doesn’t make chips, but it does make a range of machinery that it sells to chipmakers.

This is a highly cyclical market, but in general the company generates fabulous margins – over the past five years, gross margins have averaged 60 per cent and operating margins 38 per cent.

Amid a global spending spree on chips to serve demand for AI training models, management thinks the company can do even better. Last month, Besi lifted its 2030 gross margin target to 64-68 per cent, and its operating margin target to 40-55 per cent. The revenue goal was also raised from “€1bn-plus” to €1.5bn-€1.9bn. Last year’s sales were just over €600mn.

Since 2011, the company has returned about a third of the cumulative revenue it has generated to shareholders through dividends and buybacks (about €2.2bn in total).

The shares have rallied strongly since mid-April, and the question for investors is how much of its expected growth is already priced in. On current forecasts, the stock looks quite pricey at a PE ratio of 62, compared with a five-year average of 39. Yet if earnings grow as quickly as consensus estimates imply, the valuation falls to 33 times on next year’s numbers alone.

Com7 (TH:COM7) is Thailand’s biggest seller of laptops, mobile phones and other IT equipment. Co-founded by chief executive Sura Khanittaweekul in 1996, when only 10 per cent of the population had access to a computer, it has ridden the boom in consumer electronics, with phones being the core product (60 per cent of last year’s sales).

Although they have a good long-term record, Com7 shares have fallen by 55 per from their peak three years ago. Economic growth in Thailand has been weak post-Covid and is expected to slow again this year. Com7 cut its store footprint last year (mainly exiting partnership stores and department store concessions) but consensus forecasts are for EPS to grow by 12 per cent this year.

Maybank analyst Wasu Mattanapotchanart expects this to be driven by consumers seeking AI-enabled handsets, plus market share gains. His target price implies an upside of about 50 per cent from where the shares currently trade.

The games developer behind the popular Cyberpunk series, CD Projekt (PL:CDR) had a fantastic share price run-up in the decade to December 2020, at which point the shares topped out at 464 zlotys (about £95).

Their decline from that peak was due to the botched launch of the eagerly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 title in the run-up to Christmas that year. CD Projekt was subsequently forced to pull the game from many consoles after users complained that it was riddled with bugs.

Although it had managed to generate a hefty profit in 2020 due to the heavy buying in the days following the release, the bad reviews affected subsequent sales, and profits in the following year fell by 80 per cent.

Other games have since fared better, with the launch of the Phantom Liberty expansion for the (since-improved) Cyberpunk 2077 in 2023 allowing the company to beat analysts’ expectations that year.

Things have generally been on the up since, too, and the company announced alongside a strong set of first-quarter numbers this year that Cyberpunk 2 has moved from a conceptual to a pre-production phase.

Yet with no significant launches planned, analysts’ forecasts are for EPS to weaken for the next two years before surging again in 2027 on the back of the release of the fourth edition of its popular The Witcher series.

A2 Milk Company (NZ:ATM) produces a type of milk without the protein that makes digestion difficult for some.

Cows produce two types of beta-casein proteins, A1 and A2. A1 proteins are those that cause digestion issues. The company established a method to identify cows that naturally produce only A2 proteins and then built a range of products based on this.

The biggest seller has been infant milk formula, especially into China and other Asian markets, where A2 generates 68 per cent of its revenue. A2 has become a top-five player in the Chinese infant milk formula market.

The shares, which hit highs of almost NZ$22 (975p) pre-pandemic, have traded in a relatively narrow range of between about $4 and $9 in more recent years. Earnings fell sharply during the pandemic and are taking time to rebuild. Sluggish Chinese birth rates are also a “headwind”, says Morningstar analyst Angus Hewitt.

The business model still retains its attractions, however. A2 Milk markets the products but they are made under licence by third parties, which means its capital requirements are low and it throws off a lot of cash. This year, it has introduced its first dividend and a policy of returning between 60 and 80 per cent of net profit.

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