Is Women CEO the Secret to Generating High Returns on Equity?

There are a number of women breaking the glass ceiling in the business world. Some have reached the coveted CEO level and oversee great companies with large market capitalizations. These female CEOs can be found in a wide variety of sectors.

These companies have been celebrated for having strong management and good foresight. According to an article on The Balance and a number of studies in recent years, there is evidence that women in executive positions and on corporate boards can have a positive impact on a company’s performance.

Here are the best-run companies listed on Stockchase run by CEOs that are women:

🛍 Consumer
Canada Stock
Linamar Corp (LNR-T)
Linda Hasenfratz is a Canadian businesswoman, the president, chairman, and CEO of Linamar since 2002. The second largest automobile parts manufacturer. It’s a very well managed company with products to go forward. They are also in the aerial lifts and agriculture space.

Linamar Corp (LNR-T) — Stockchase

Opinion about LNR-T: (A Top Pick Jun 17/24, Down 5%) It is well managed but never got much respect from the market. He sold because the company was doing well last year but the stock didn't move much. He is not sure about tariff effects. He has moved on to BYD and Uber. BYD has…

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US Stock
General Motors Corporation (GM-N)
Mary Teresa Barra is the Chairwoman and CEO of General Motors Company, and she has held the CEO position since 2014. It’s trading at a cheap multiple of 6.2x earnings. There is volatility in the auto sector as they go through electrification. It pays a good dividend but it is not expected to be raised in the near future.

General Motors Corporation (GM-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about GM-N: Not founder-run or founder-owned, and that's an immediate "no" for his firm. ROIC has been volatile. Quite a bit of debt. Capital intensive. Lots of competition in the space.

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Hershy Foods Corp (HSY-N)
Michele Buck is an American businesswoman. In March 2017,she became the first female President and CEO. The largest chocolate manufacturer in the world. It is a global leader with over 80 brands. A defensive growth stock and it is a good pick against tariffs since most of their revenues are from North America.

Hershey Foods Corp (HSY-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about HSY-N: For widows and orphans? Decent company. Driven by acquisitions. He's not knocking it, but he owns LISP instead, which has done significantly better (unfortunately, it's $20k a participation share, with a common share being over $200k CAD). There's also the currency benefit on LISP.

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Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance Inc. (ULTA-Q)
Mary Dillon is an American businesswoman, and has been the CEO since July 2013. A beauty store chain in the United States. It’s well managed and is continuing to open stores. Their same-store sales growth has been growing well at 7-8% yearly.

Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance Inc. (ULTA-Q) — Stockchase

Opinion about ULTA-Q: Trevor Rose’s Insights - Trevor’s most-liked answers from 5i Research EPS of $6.70 beat estimates of $5.80; revenue of $2.84B beat estimates of $2.79B. EBITDA of $473M beat estimates by 13%. Ulta Beauty's slight increase to fiscal 2025 sales and earnings guidance reflects better-than-expected 1Q results -- a positive signal that its…

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Ross Stores Inc. (ROST-Q)
Barbara Rentler is a businesswoman, and the current CEO of Fortune 500 company. An off-price department store chain. They are the second largest after TJX Companies. In times of recession, these stocks tend to do well. THey are also building stores and buying back shares.

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST-Q) — Stockchase

Opinion about ROST-Q: They do a good job with the balance sheet. They rallied in the summer when we felt the economy cooling, but now these names are struggling with a stronger economy. He prefers TJX. Ross' momentum is broken.

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💻 Technology
US Stock
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD-Q)
Lisa Su is a Taiwanese American business executive and electrical engineer, and the CEO and president of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). A semiconductor maker that is Intel’s competitor. It has stayed above the 200 day average and the sector is recovering.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD-Q) — Stockchase

Opinion about AMD-Q: AMD vs. Shopify Prefers SHOP. AMD is fully priced. He targets $125 for SHOP. Don't sell AMD, just raise some calls against it.

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Oracle (ORCL-N)
Safra A. Catz is an Israeli-born American business executive and co-CEO of Oracle Corporation. A computer technology company. They are developing their subscription services and cloud based business.

Oracle (ORCL-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about ORCL-N: Hasn't had a chance to look closely at yesterday's earnings. Stock's at a 52-week, if not all-time, high today. Looks interesting, given the cloud space it's in. Not expensive at 2x PEG, with forward PE of 29-30x. Earnings growth rate ~16%.Technically, meets his criteria. 200-day MA is trending higher, and price is…

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IBM (IBM-N)
Virginia Marie “Ginni” Rometty is an American business executive. She is the current chair, president, and CEO of IBM, and the first woman to head the company. A multinational tech company that specializes in computer hardware. They are implementing a stock buyback plan that will see the stock pay a 5% yield.

IBM Common Stock (IBM-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about IBM-N: She bought it when it was trading at 12x PE and yielded over 5%. Diversifying away from mainframe computers to cloud and AI will raise growth in the future. 

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👨‍⚕️ Healthcare
US Stock
Mylan Inc (MYL-Q)
Heather Bresch is an American business executive. She has served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Mylan since 2012. A global pharmaceutical company that manufactures generic drugs. They are the ones who manufacturer EpiPen and they went through some controversy. A generic version is now offered but their credibility is still brining pressure.

Mylan Inc (MYL-Q) — Stockchase

Opinion about MYL-Q: TEVA-N vs. MYL-Q. He does not like either at these prices. They are both generics manufacturers. There are lots of headwinds on pricing in these categories. We have had a lot of noise on pricing of pharmaceuticals. The FDA is going to alleviate the delays on getting new drugs to market. He…

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🏛 Financials
US Stock
Ventas Inc (VTR-N)
Debra A. Cafaro is an American business executive, who is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ventas, Inc. A real estate investment trust specializing in the US healthcare industry. They are one of the largest healthcare REITs and is very well run.

Ventas Inc (VTR-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about VTR-N: Higher interest rates will weigh on this and other REITs. Their core business is seniors' homes, so long-term demographics are a tailwind. Their last quarter was in line, but shares were hammered. Pays a 4.3% dividend. Buy it gradually on the way down. You're paid to wait.

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Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ-Q)
Adena T. Friedman is an American businessperson. She currently serves as the president and CEO of Nasdaq. The financial services company that operates the NASDAQ stock exchange. They also operate eight European stock exchanges.

Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ-Q) — Stockchase

Opinion about NDAQ-Q: It's done well for him for many years. They've been investing a lot in technology to offer customers things like risk-management tools. Also, their listings have done very well; the more IPOs and listings, the better for NDAQ. (Analysts’ price target is $67.47)

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Progressive Corp Ohio (PGR-N)
Tricia Griffith is an American business executive who currently serves as the CEO and president of Progressive. A car insurance provider. The property and casualty insurance sector has very low costs of operation and is profitable. There is a long-term uptrend that is lifting share prices.

Progressive Corporation (PGR-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about PGR-N: A number of P&C insurers in the US pulled back post-hurricane. Technically, not broken. Sector probably does pretty well going forward. 

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Synchrony Financial (SYF-N)
Margaret Keane has been the chief executive officer and president of Synchrony Financial since February 2014. A consumer financial services company. They try to bring value to consumers and merchants. It offers private label credit cards and other deposit products.

Synchrony Financial (SYF-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about SYF-N: (A Top Pick Feb 25/25, Down 7.7%)Stockchase Research Editor: Michael O’Reilly Our PAST TOP PICK with SYF has triggered its stop at $55.  To remain disciplined, we recommend covering the position at this time.  

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Keycorp (KEY-N)
Beth Elaine Mooney is an American financial executive who is the first woman to be CEO of a top-20 U.S. bank. A regional bank based in Cleveland. It is one of the largest bank-based financial services company.

Keycorp (KEY-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about KEY-N: It's on her watchlist. She's keen to see next week's bank earnings and is bullish banks. KEY has been underperforming big. It reports Jan. 18.

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💡 Utilities
Canada Stock
Transalta Corp (TA-T)
Dawn Lorraine Farrell has been the Chief Executive Officer and President at TransAlta Corporation since 2012. An electricity power generator that has announced plans to buy back stocks. They are making a transition from coal to natural gas fired power plants.

Transalta Corp (TA-T) — Stockchase

Opinion about TA-T: (A Top Pick Apr 29/25, Up 14.4%)Stockchase Research Editor: Michael O'Reilly Our PAST TOP PICK with TA is progressing well.  To remain disciplined, we recommend trailing up the stop (from $9.50) to $11.00 at this time.

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Atco Ltd (ACO.X-T)
Nancy C. Southern has been the Chief Executive Officer of ATCO Ltd. since January 2000. A holding company with subsidiaries mostly in gas or construction. The talks of lower interest rates has helped this company’s stock price.

Atco Ltd (ACO.X-T) — Stockchase

Opinion about ACO.X-T: Traditionally trades at a discount. Has no problem with its logistics or acoustics businesses. Great long term. Good, solid dividend yield. If you own it keep holding, especially in a market like this. She prefers FTS and EMA, mainly because she likes their geographic diversification.

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US Stock
Duke Energy (DUK-N)
Lynn J. Good is chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy, a Fortune 500 company. An electric power holding company that is in energy infrastructure. The rising interest rate have hurt the utilities and energy sector but it is recovering and the overall outlook is good.

Duke Energy (DUK-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about DUK-N: A fine utility, but it's trading down with its peers.

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CMS Energy Corp (CMS-N)
Patricia K. Poppe is an American businesswoman and business executive, the president and CEO of CMS Energy since 2016. A utility operations company. One of the best run in the US. It is currently trading at a premium, but the quality justifies the price.

CMS Energy Corp (CMS-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about CMS-N: This is one of the best run utilities in the US. It is not a value play but a high quality play. It is another way to add to the utilities. It is trading at over 20X earnings to is trading at a premium, however, you are buying quality. It is the…

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American Water Works Co. Inc. (AWK-N)
Susan N. Story is an American utility executive and the current Chief Executive Officer of American Water. They operate public water utility in the US and Canada. They have quite a high valuation with over 20 times earnings but it has performed well.

American Water Works Co. Inc. (AWK-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about AWK-N: It will go down with interest rates. Likes it long term.

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🚚 Industrials
US Stock
Lockheed Martin (LMT-N)
Marillyn Adams Hewson is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin. A global aerospace and defense tech company. This tends to move higher with market volatility. They pay a good yield of 2.58%.

Lockheed Martin (LMT-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about LMT-N: Not just about aerospace and defense, but also about robotics (pilotless fighter jets and bombers, which should mitigate a lot of pilot error). Investors should have 5-10% of a portfolio devoted to robotics, and if you get aerospace and defense on top of that, even better.He also really likes ROK.

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General Dynamics Corp. (GD-N)
Phebe Novakovic is an American businesswoman and former intelligence officer. She serves as the Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of General Dynamics. They make nuclear subs for the government and executive Gulfstream jets. 25% of their revenues are from aerospace and business jets. They just increased their dividend by 10% recently.

General Dynamics Corp. (GD-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about GD-N: Not sure of the negative impetus for the recent pullback. Underperforming the industrial sector when the market's going up -- not a good sign. Question why you're there. Could see further weakness.

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⚡ Energy
US Stock
Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY-N)
Vicki Hollub is an American businesswoman and mineral engineer. She has been the president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum since April 2016. A petroleum and natural gas exploration company. They are one of the largest US oil and gas company by equity market cap. They also own OxyChem which is a major chemical manufacturer.

Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY-N) — Stockchase

Opinion about OXY-N: Why did Warren Buffett buy so much of it? He shares the caller's bewilderment. Why didn't Warren come to Canada with its better valuations and resource depth? Could be because it has a clean tech division which earned tax credits when ESG was stronger than today. Inventory challenges. Better opportunities elsewhere.

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