Finding stock market outperformers can seem daunting, even more so if you have a high internal hurdle rate. That just means the return you look for in potential investments is likely much higher than what the overall market can give you.

The name of the game here is to practice patience, waiting for the right opportunity to present itself, so you can make a sizable bet in your portfolio if everything lines up.

Unlike in baseball, there are no called strikes in the world of investing. But luckily, there are some clues investors can look for to find huge market winners.

That being said, if you're looking for the next 10-bagger stock (which translates to a remarkable 26% annualized return over a 10-year period), it's important to focus on revenue growth above any other metric. 

What matters most 

The S&P 500 has produced an average yearly return in the neighborhood of 10% throughout its history. So by seeking a 26% annual return over a full decade to get that tenfold return, investors need a strong filter when looking at what stocks to consider buying. In other words, the bar is set extraordinarily high for what can enter the portfolio. 

According to research from AllianceBernstein, an asset management firm, one of the most important metrics it found that determines a stock's performance over a 10-year period is sales growth. It's really that simple a metric to understand and find in financial statements.

The median 10-bagger over a five-year stretch increased revenue 300%, while the median 10-bagger over a decade increased revenue 320%. For tech businesses in particular, revenue jumped 820% over a 10-year span. Those are seriously impressive top-line gains.

From the start of 2015 through the end of 2020, for example, Netflix saw its share price rise 1,000%. During that six-year time frame, sales skyrocketed almost fivefold.

Then, there's digital payments trailblazer Block, whose stock became a 10-bagger from its initial public offering in Nov. 2015 to July 2020. In 2015, total revenue was $1.3 billion. In 2020, it was a whopping $9.5 billion. 

Both Netflix and Block are perfect examples of companies that were (and still are) riding broad secular trends, one in the streaming video industry and the other in the fintech space. They both took advantage of a quickly expanding market to take greater share. Investors can look at other fast-growing industries for winning stocks. 

What's encouraging is that AllianceBernstein's research showed that it's easier to find 10-baggers when inflation and interest rates are high, like what we're currently experiencing. This is a positive sign for investors looking to find stocks with massive upside potential.

Other crucial factors to consider 

Besides rapidly rising revenue, investors should consider other factors that can influence the likelihood of a stock being a 10-bagger, and that's expanding profitability and a relatively low starting valuation.  

On the first point, the research shows that 10-bagger stocks are businesses that are actually profitable to begin with, which might come as a huge surprise. We often think of these winners as companies that are forgoing current profits in the name of achieving growth, but this isn't the case. In fact, 10-baggers see their operating margins expand over time. 

Moreover, since these businesses have positive bottom lines, we can assess them on a price-to-earnings (P/E) basis. It was also a surprise to me that 10-bagger stocks start out with attractive valuations. The P/E ratios are typically below the market's multiple.

Combine fast top-line gains with widening profitability and a higher valuation, and you have all the ingredients for a 10-bagger stock.

Forecasting is difficult 

While it can be incredibly easy to identify companies that have increased their sales and margins at a rapid clip in the past, the challenge is accurately predicting if they can keep up those gains in the future. There are just too many factors at play -- like macroeconomic trends and the constantly changing competitive landscape -- that can alter the upward trajectory.  

Nonetheless, investors are now better equipped with what characteristics to look for to find winning stocks.