This 'Boring' Stock Has Nearly Doubled The Nasdaq-100's Returns Over The Past 5 Years

The stock market is headlined by several high profile technology companies. Apple has already cracked the $5 trillion market cap figure, while others are pouring immense resources into AI – allowing investors the opportunity to invest in AI. However, the impact of tech stocks in the S&P 500 should actually be a point of concern for many investors, and it's important to realize that not all stock market darlings fall within the technology sphere. One firm, in particular, that is notching impressive results — that more than double the Nasdaq's 100 largest non-financial companies performance over the last five years — is Parker-Hannifin (PH). 

Parker-Hannifin makes seals, filters, pumps, and many other critical products for the industrial, mobile, and aerospace markets. It manufactured these underappreciated support pieces to the tune of nearly $20 billion in annual revenue in fiscal year 2025. As of early August 2026, the company is trading up roughly 20% year-to-date even as it's seen turbulent pricing action through the first half of 2026. That said, it was announced in late-2025 that PH had secured a contract to provide filtration parts and critical systems to roughly 30 gas turbines at a massive data center in Texas — adding AI-adjacent money to the mix and likely further cementing the company's staying power.

PH's long term growth, sitting a little higher than a +250% return over the last five years, should have investors taking note. The company's sprawling portfolio creates a carveout in the industrial marketplace that no other company maps onto completely. PH has its hands in a huge range of industries, including contracts to supply critical parts for military and other defense applications. Hydraulic power is a largely subtle and frequently unnoticed element in all sorts of machinery at the center of modern life — from consumer automobiles and cabinet doors to tanks and industrial fabrication equipment. 

This means that Parker-Hannifin is in a prime position to post strong earnings regardless of complicated economic climates such as times of war — which frequently impact the stock market in unexpected ways – or even periods of low inflation where consumer spending increases. Perhaps this is why PH is a dividend darling, having increased its annual dividend consecutively for 70 years.