(FORTUNE Magazine) – Rank on list

2 Siebel Systems What trend does Wall Street like more than continuous growth? Consistent financial performance. Siebel has elevated that kind of precision to an art form: Since the company's June 1996 IPO, it has met or exceeded consensus estimates for 20 consecutive quarters.

9 Mercury Interactive In the network-security field, where turnover abounds and fly-by-night outfits appear with startling frequency, Mercury's management stability has helped fuel its growth: CEO Amnon Landan has been at the firm for 12 years, the COO for nine years, and the CFO for seven years.

10 Network Appliance Targeting the low and middle range of the data-storage market, Network Appliance has not only vaulted to prominence but nearly doubled its sales four years in a row. Now, with IT budgets dwindling, the company is expanding beyond tech, selling its systems to government agencies and energy companies.

13 Zomax A steady diet of well-digested acquisitions--six in as many years--has kept this software-outsourcing firm growing rapidly. While the tech slump has hit rivals hard, Zomax's revenue growth remains impressive: In that category, it places 16th on our list.

27 Jakks Pacific This toymaker got its start with licensing deals (the WWF was its first big score). But the real reason Jakks has managed in just six years to go from dream to Barbie Dream House rival? By finding and cornering niche markets--as in glitter-dipped pencils and a slimy substance called Goooze. Who couldn't use a little Goooze?

38 Salton Before Salton's sales teams push a new product--be it the Juiceman or the Toastmaster--it must pass one key test: Every last person on the sales team must buy one. A thumbs down from the team, and the product gets ditched. What happens when they sense a hit? (Can you say "George Foreman grill"?)

47 Micrel Not only is the customer always right, but as Micrel has found, the customer can also be a gold mine for good ideas. Roughly a third of the 30 new products Micrel unveils each quarter are designed with specific customer input.

51 Extended Stay America Forget luxury. This long-term lodging company has racked up impressive three-year annual earnings growth of 123% by pampering customers where it counts: their wallets. The company's room rates are typically 20% lower than local competitors' (and the chain even offers free parking).

63 Impath What's the diagnosis for Impath's success? Fewer customers. Instead of just providing cancer docs with its cutting-edge oncology research services, Impath has shifted its sights toward a smaller number of large pharmaceuticals firms and biotechs (blue-chip companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline have already signed on). The chemistry is apparent. In a the past 12 months, Impath's stock rose 58%.

65 American Eagle Outfitters It takes one to know one. Which is why this teen-retailing empire built on cargoes and tank tops boasts that its average employee age (including the 14,000 store associates) is just 22. Says a spokeswoman: "We're living and breathing our customers' lifestyle."

70 Insight Enterprises Insight's secret weapon? The phone. Targeting small businesses that are too tiny to warrant an in-person sales call--but too big to shop for computers, printers, and other supplies at the local CompUSA--Insight's telemarketers speed 75% of their merchandise directly from suppliers to companies.

75 PolyMedica Data have given this direct-to-consumer medical-products company an edge. A long-running TV ad campaign (and meticulous notes about the consumers who call its 800 number) has yielded a wealth of demographic info for use in new-product marketing. The question is, Has the company's streak run its course? (For more, see "Growth Stocks That Won't Keep You Up at Night.")

85 VISX Cutting its licensing fees from $250 to $100 per procedure in 1999 spurred growth for the leading laser-system manufacturer in the country. It took 42 months (from when the FDA granted approval in 1996) to reach the one-million mark for procedures--and only 14 months more to reach the next million. It helps that over 8,000 eye-care doctors and staff have gone under the VISX laser themselves.

96 Schuler Homes This Hawaii-based homebuilder became one of the top 15 nationwide by leaving the islands. Well, not entirely. But when Hawaii's economy began to slump some three years ago, Schuler bought and grew its way into hot markets like California, Colorado, and Washington. It's now among the top five builders in those states.

98 Biogen Biogen has been determined to kick a nasty (and costly) biotech habit: licensing drug discoveries to Big Pharma. With its first drug, multiple sclerosis treatment Avonex, Biogen has hung on to the manufacturing and global-distribution reins. That means the company isn't forced to carve up its revenues (which, incidentally, are expected to top $1 billion in 2001).

REPORTER ASSOCIATE Eric Dash