3 Stocks Projected to More Than Double Their Earnings in 2017

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Who says big can't be beautiful? In the year ahead, some of the world's largest tech companies are set to grow their earnings at triple-digit rates, such as these:

Data source: S&P Global Market Intelligence 

This kind of dramatic rise in earnings can result from several different factors, some more positive than others. Let's examine the specific earnings growth stories under way at Amazon.com (AMZN +0.55%), Netflix (NFLX 0.91%), and Micron Technology (MU +15.40%) to gain a clearer sense of whether investors should further consider these three high-growth tech stocks.

Amazon.com

It's uncommon to find a company sporting a valuation of several hundred billion dollars more than double its profit, but this is just one example of how e-commerce leader Amazon.com defies convention. Amazon's profit growth is in many ways a result of the company's well-worn tactic of running its business as close to breakeven as possible. A small profit base makes this kind of performance far easier. The company produced only $252 million in net income from sales of $22.3 billion in revenue in its most recently reported quarter, as the most recent example.

At the same time, its impressive profit growth speaks to the compelling nature of Amazon's long-term growth opportunity, even for a company well into its third decade of existence. As one of the many data points to support this thesis, researcher eMarketer predicts that worldwide retail e-commerce sales will increase from $1.9 trillion in $4.1 trillion by 2020. As arguably the most innovative company in the space, Amazon.com is well positioned to ride the generational trend to continued growth for years to come.

Netflix

The streaming-video giant has produced consistent, albeit highly variable, GAAP profits in recent years. That figures to change over the coming 12 months. Netflix has invested heavily to launch its international streaming business, and the results thus far have been impressive, to say the least. Better still, the inherent operating leverage in Netflix's streaming business model should truly shine through in the coming quarters, as its international segment begins producing positive contribution profits, a proxy for operating profit. Specifically, Netflix expects to add 3.7 million net international subscribers in its current quarter (Q1 2017), which should help bump its international segment's contribution profit from a $67 million loss in Q4 2016 to $16 million on the plus side in its current quarter.

The maturation of its international business appears largely responsible for the company's EPS uptick this year; Netflix's more mature U.S. operation is already highly profitable. This trend also figures to continue into next year, when analysts see Netflix's EPS growing a further 82% year over year. That being said, Netflix's soaring stock price makes its shares painfully expensive, at 68 times its expected 2017 earnings. However, as a best-of-breed growth stock, Netflix may indeed deserve the premium, as its triple-digit earnings growth showcases.

Micron Technologies

Explaining Micron's place on the list requires a bit of context. A supply glut in the memory chip market in 2015  and 2016 hit Micron, which derives virtually all of its revenue from selling memory chips, into a full-year loss for 2016. The sharp contrast between Micron's most recent two years speaks for itself.

Data source: Micron Technology investor relations. 

Now, in the new year, this trend is widely expected to reverse itself and then some, which has had a dramatic effect on Micron's 2017 sales and earnings estimates , as evidenced by its triple-digit EPS growth this year. The company's stock price has reacted in kind, soaring 119% over the past 12 months. Lending the pricing rebound narrative further credence, stronger memory chip prices have already shown themselves throughout the industry. In fact, favorable memory chip pricing helped fuel market-share leader Samsung's recent surprise earnings blowout, , even as the impact of the Galaxy Note 7 recall hampered results.

Importantly, though, Micron's reliance on memory chips gives it something of a "live by the sword, die by the sword" dynamic. Flush periods like today can prove tremendously lucrative for the company and its shareholders, but its stock can also sell off dramatically when memory chip prices soften. This isn't necessarily a negative, but investors need to understand this important dynamic to successfully invest in Micron Technology.