Best in the business – small business – rated by Fortune

Fallout from accounting scandals, the uncertain economy, and the unevenness of the recovery to date have hurt American enterprises of all sizes. But, in its annual ranking of the 100 fastest-growing small companies, Fortune magazine recently took note of the those that consistently have performed best over the past three years, based on earnings, revenue growth, and the performance of their stocks. The top 10 on Fortune's small business list, and what each does (in parentheses):

1. NYFIX Inc., Stamford, Conn. (electronic trading software)
2. Dynacq International Inc., Pasadena, Texas (medical care services)
3. 4Kids Entertainment Inc., New York (toy licenser)
4. Quicksilver Resources Inc., Fort Worth, Texas (natural gas)
5. Catalyst Semiconductor Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif. (telecommunications chips)
6. Key Production Co. Inc., Denver (oil and natural gas)
7. CompuDyne Corp., Hanover, Md. (security building materials)
8. Asta Funding Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J. (debt recovery)
9. Evergreen Resources Inc., Denver (methane gas energy)
10. Panhandle Royalty Co., Oklahoma City (oil)