Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) is the nation's largest provider of workplace child-care and early education programs. The company runs nearly 490 family centers for more than 400 corporate clients, including Citigroup, Time Warner and Motorola.

An increasing number of large employers looking to boost employee productivity and reduce turnover and missed days of work are turning to Bright Horizons. The firm has a backlog of about 50 centers scheduled to open over the next year or two.

International expansion is a key component of Bright Horizon's growth strategy over the next few years. In addition to its centers in 37 states, the company operates in Canada, Guam, Ireland and the United Kingdom, and it has its eye on other underserved markets in Europe. A healthy balance sheet is helping to fund acquisitions, and Bright Horizons has also benefited from existing clients expanding operations overseas. These prospects, says Value Line analyst Justin Hellman, help make Bright Horizons "a good core, long-term holding."

The stock trades at 26 times 2004 consensus earnings estimates of $1.77 per share, slightly lower than its average annual P/E ratio. Earnings have risen at a double-digit rate each year since the firm's founding in 1998, and analysts expect that trend to continue over the next three to five years.

--Erin Burt

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