20 top-performing stocks

The world's biggest vehicle-safety equipment supplier saw its stock soar in a year of recovery for the automotive industry. Sales at TRW Automotive Holdings rose 24%, and the company also lowered its debt to what CEO John Plant called a "historic low."

TRW's largest markets are Europe and North America. But last year about a fifth of its sales came from outside those regions, with China and Brazil leading the way.

That robust growth may be hard to sustain in 2011. Among other concerns, it's likely that the tragic earthquakes and tsunami that hit Japan in March will significantly slow auto production this year, as the country manufactures a large share of the world's vehicle parts and components.

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