FORTUNE announced yesterday that Medifast, a leading portion-controlled weight-loss program, is ranked 29th on the 2010 "100 Fastest-Growing Companies" list. The full list and related stories appear in the September 6, 2010, issue of FORTUNE, available on newsstands on Monday, August 23.
FORTUNE Managing Editor Andy Serwer writes in the September 6, 2010, issue, "The troubled economy is on all of our minds these days, but sometimes we forget that even in the long slog we seem to be in, entrepreneurs are hard at work creating the next Cisco or Amgen or Starbucks."
"We are extremely proud to be recognized by FORTUNE as one of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies," commented Michael S. McDevitt, Chief Executive Officer, Medifast, Inc. "Everyone at Medifast continues to work tirelessly toward our long-term goal of helping Americans regain control of their health. Medifast is committed to providing clinically proven, innovative and superior quality products to support our multi-platform distribution channels."
Mr. McDevitt continued, "Our business model is demonstrating tremendous results by addressing each individual client's weight-loss and weight-maintenance needs. We look forward to building on this success over the next several years."
Medifast has been recommended by over 20,000 doctors since 1980. Clients can expect to lose up to two to five pounds per week on the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan, which consists of eating five Medifast Meals and one Lean & Green Meal per day. Medifast provides customers over 70 different menu options, as well as a variety of support options to assist customers on their weight-loss journey.
To qualify for FORTUNE'S 100 Fastest-Growing Companies, foreign or domestic companies had to meet the following criteria: be trading on a major U.S. stock exchange; file quarterly reports with the SEC; have a minimum market capitalization of $250 million and a stock price of at least $5 on June 30, 2010; and have been trading continuously since June 30, 2007. The company must also have revenue and net income of at least $50 million and $10 million, respectively, for the four quarters ended on or before April 30, 2010. Finally, the company must have posted an annualized growth in revenue and earnings per share of at least 15% annually over the three years ended on or before April 30, 2010.
Companies that meet the above criteria were ranked by revenue growth rate, EPS growth rate, and three-year annualized total return for the period ended June 30, 2010. (To compute the revenue and EPS growth rates, FORTUNE uses a trailing four quarters log linear least square regression fit.) The overall rank was based on the sum of the three ranks. Once the 100 companies were identified, they were then re-ranked within the 100, using the three equally weighted variables. If there is a tie, the company with the larger four-quarter revenue receives the higher rank.