The most important part in determining a company's stock growth is extremely difficult. But, by asking a few key questions, investors can improve the accuracy of their guesswork. Firstly, take some time to examine the market growth rate- For example, Apple less than a decade ago, was known only for computers, but now it has a market share on the phone and tablet market. To get some hints of their future prospects, you need to estimate the percentage of people who already have smartphones and the percentage of customers who will buy new smartphones etc. Secondly, a company's market share impacts in a big way on its future sales growth. Coffee-retailer Starbucks and automaker Honda are examples of companies that have used their brand name to grow their market share. Also, pricing is an important factor and needs to be considered as it has a big impact on sales revenue growth of any company. Read more at: : http://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/04/100604.asp

Over the last few years, stocks have climbed to lofty heights. Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ index all have gained new heights. It is the great time to own stocks but at the same time, it is hard to please investors. For rational investors the continuous rise might seem to be a bubble and they can start getting defensive. Many companies that have recently released earning reports have either missed expectations or relied on cost cutting measures rather than revenue growth to bolster their results. While the ride can continue stocks can also go sideways. The bottom line is though it has not yet happened, but the stocks can be frothy and correction could be near. So, investors getting defensive will make sense. Read more at: http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/073114/it-finally-time-get-defensive-def-usmv-idlv-hdge.aspx