One of the biggest mistakes investors make is spending all their time looking for what is cheap and almost no time looking for what is working.

Do not get me wrong. I love cheap stocks. Anyone who has followed my work for more than about 15 minutes knows I will happily spend my weekends digging through community banks trading at 60% of tangible book value, REITs nobody wants to own, and ugly little companies that have been left for dead by Wall Street.

Value investing has been very good to me over the years.

There is another side of the market, however, that deserves attention. Some of the biggest stock market winners in history were not statistically cheap when their great runs began. They were smaller companies growing rapidly, gaining market share, delivering earnings surprises, and attracting institutional investors.

The stocks kept going up because the businesses kept getting better.

Peter Lynch understood this better than almost anyone. Lynch famously said, “Big companies have small moves, small companies have big moves.”

That observation remains as true today as it was when he was running the Magellan Fund.

A $500 million company can become a $5 billion company.

A $5 billion company can become a $50 billion company.

A $500 billion company has a much harder road ahead.

That simple reality is why investors should always keep a portion of their attention focused on smaller companies that are executing well and seeing strong momentum in both their businesses and their stock prices.

William O’Neil built an entire investment empire around this concept. While traditional value investors searched for stocks making new lows, O’Neil searched for stocks making new highs. His research showed that many of the market’s greatest winners were already outperforming before they went on their biggest runs.

That idea sounds completely backward to most investors.

Human nature tells us to buy things that have fallen and avoid things that have risen. The market frequently rewards the opposite behavior. Strong companies often become stronger. Stocks making new highs often continue making new highs.

Institutional investors do not build positions in a day. They buy over weeks and months, creating the persistent upward trends that momentum investors love to see.

The challenge, of course, is finding these companies before they become household names.

Twenty years ago, that meant spending endless hours sorting through financial statements, earnings reports, and stock tables. Today, there is a much better way.

One of my favorite features in Benzinga Pro is the Scanner tool. Investors can screen for accelerating earnings growth, strong revenue trends, unusual volume, relative strength, breakouts, and market capitalization thresholds in just a few clicks.

Instead of searching through thousands of stocks, you can quickly narrow the field to a handful of companies demonstrating exactly the characteristics that Lynch and O’Neil would have found interesting.

Running those screens recently uncovered five fascinating small-cap companies that combine growth, momentum, and compelling business stories.

Pediatrix Medical Group (MD) is one of those stocks that almost nobody talks about at cocktail parties, which is usually a good thing. The company is one of the largest physician-services providers focused on neonatal, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology, and other specialty healthcare services.

Demand for these services is not tied to consumer confidence or the latest economic headline. Recent operational improvements and stronger profitability trends have attracted institutional investors, helping fuel impressive price momentum. Healthcare is not usually the first place momentum investors look for exciting growth stories, which makes MD particularly interesting. Sometimes the best opportunities are hiding in plain sight.

Shoals Technologies Group (SHLS) gives investors exposure to one of the most important long-term trends in the economy: upgrading America’s electrical infrastructure. The company provides electrical balance-of-system solutions used in large-scale solar projects and other energy applications.

After spending time in the market penalty box, the company has begun to show signs of renewed business strength. Improving fundamentals and growing investor confidence have pushed shares sharply higher. Infrastructure spending, electrification, and grid modernization are themes that are likely to persist for years, giving Shoals a very long runway for growth.

Lincoln Educational Services (LINC) may be one of the most underappreciated growth stories in the market. Every manufacturer, contractor, automotive repair company, and industrial employer in America seems to be searching for skilled workers. Lincoln trains many of those workers through career-focused programs in automotive technology, welding, healthcare, and skilled trades. Enrollment trends have improved, profitability has strengthened, and investors have started to notice. The stock’s strong momentum suggests institutions believe this story has much further to run.

Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality (PRSU) taps directly into a trend that continues to surprise economists and market strategists. Consumers keep spending money on experiences. People may postpone buying a new appliance or delay upgrading a vehicle, but they still want memorable vacations and unique travel experiences.

Pursuit owns a collection of hospitality and tourism assets that benefit from this trend. Revenue growth, improving cash flow, and a compelling portfolio of destination properties have combined to create one of the strongest charts in the small-cap universe. Investors looking for a growth story tied to travel and consumer spending should take a close look.

Mistras Group (MG) rounds out the list and may be the most overlooked company of the bunch. The company provides inspection, engineering, and asset-protection services to customers across infrastructure, aerospace, energy, and industrial markets. That may not sound exciting, but the need to maintain and protect critical infrastructure is only becoming more important.

As demand for reliability and safety services increases, Mistras has been delivering stronger operating results. Investors have responded by steadily bidding shares higher. These are often the types of industrial companies that quietly compound value for years before Wall Street finally pays attention.

None of these companies are guaranteed winners. Investing does not work that way. Every stock carries risk, and every growth story eventually faces challenges.

What these companies do have in common is a combination that has historically produced some of the market’s biggest winners. They are relatively small. They are growing. Institutions appear to be accumulating shares. The stock prices are confirming the underlying business trends.

That is exactly the type of setup Peter Lynch looked for. It is exactly the type of setup William O’Neil built a career around. It is exactly the type of opportunity investors can uncover using the Benzinga Pro Scanner.

The next great stock market winner is probably not sitting among the trillion-dollar giants that dominate the headlines every day. It is probably a smaller company executing exceptionally well while most investors are paying attention to something else.

The good news is that finding these companies has never been easier.

The bad news is that you still have to do the work.

Fortunately, Benzinga Pro gives you a tremendous head start.