Heico Corporation (NYSE:HEI) has been around since 1957 when it was focused on making and selling laboratory equipment. By 1960, sales were around $730,000.

That’s certainly a respectable start.

By 1970, sales were $2.3 million. And then it entered the aviation sector.

By 1980, sales were almost an order of magnitude larger, at $21 million.

Today, this Florida-based company is doing over $1 billion in annual sales. A couple years ago, it was voted by Forbes as one of the most trustworthy companies in the U.S.

But chances are, you’ve never heard of the company.

HEI is one of those companies that form the bedrock of U.S. manufacturing and the tech sector but does it quietly. HEI stock isn’t a high-flier that is looking for press coverage.

This is an Old School company with a $9 billion market cap that keeps inking deals with major commercial airlines, Homeland Security and the Department of Defense for aviation and computer equipment. It also is a top subcontractor to the big defense firms that inks the massive deals that make the headlines.

The reality is, as long as there is significant defense spending, HEI stock is going to do well. But unlike some of its defense-focused counterparts, HEI is also in very big demand on the commercial side as well.

And commercial aviation is a long-term growth industry.

Research firm Statista projects that the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of passenger demand will be 4.7% out to 2036. Boeing (NYSE: BA) agrees, and estimates that air cargo will grow at a CAGR of 4.2% over that time.

Last year, growth was 8%. This year it’s expected to be 7%.

Currently, we’re seeing high growth rates because the industry is playing catch-up to demand that has been simmering for the past number of years during the recession.

Now, pent up demand is exploding around the world and the aerospace industry is seeing significant growth. Also remember that the Trump Administration has pulled the plug on defense spending, so current budgets, especially in election years, are very generous.

All this helps explain why HEI stock is up 25% year-to-date and up 48% in the past 12 months.

Given the enormous amount of growth that is certainly coming, and the fact that HEI has been around to take advantage of the sector’s opportunities for more than 60 years now, there’s little doubt that it will be a big winner in the megatrend that’s underway now.

Bear in mind that HEI stock split 5-for-4 on April 7, and it was paid to shareholders as a 25% special dividend. Now that’s one shareholder friendly company.

Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of four investing newsletters: Growth Investor, Breakthrough Stocks, Accelerated Profits and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Growth Investor, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.

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