Rising producer prices in the US suggest that cost pressures for businesses are still alive, even as consumer inflation cools. In this kind of backdrop, many investors look for founders who have their own capital and reputation tied to every pricing and cost decision. This article explains why founder-led companies matter in the current environment and highlights three stocks from the Founder-Led Companies screener for closer examination.

The three founder-led stocks below are just a starting sample, and the full screen surfaced another 353 companies with equally compelling leadership stories that are not covered here.

To identify and analyze the founder-led businesses that best fit your own criteria, head straight into the Founder-Led Companies screener.

On Holding (ONON)

Overview: On Holding is a Zurich based sportswear company that designs and sells premium athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories for running, outdoor activity, training, tennis, and everyday wear. It reaches athletes and style conscious consumers worldwide through a mix of wholesale partners, its own stores, and e-commerce channels.

Market Cap: US$10.2b

On Holding gives you a founder led premium sports brand with strong earnings momentum, expanding direct to consumer sales and a clear focus on profitability, which together help support its higher P/E and analyst interest. The company is pushing hard into apparel, lifestyle and new geographies like Asia Pacific, while also investing in automated manufacturing that could lower costs and support margins over time. At the same time, recent weakness in Americas wholesale, reliance on premium pricing and heavy marketing spend show why the ride is not risk free. Analysts still see material upside from current levels, so the key question is whether you think the founders can keep balancing rapid expansion with pricing discipline and cash flow.

On Holding’s rapid earnings momentum and premium brand positioning have many investors focused on growth, not the full picture. Get the analyst forecasts for On Holding to see what expectations might be missing.

Build your own premium growth shortlist

On Holding and the two other founder led stocks in this article all came out of a single Simply Wall St screen, but the real value is in creating filters that match how you like to invest. Use our flexible Screener to combine valuation, growth, balance sheet and risk metrics into your own shortlist, or jump straight into our curated Investing Ideas.

Trade Desk (TTD)

Overview: Trade Desk is a US based advertising technology company that helps brands and agencies plan, buy, and optimize digital ad campaigns across connected TV, online video, audio, mobile, display, and digital out of home screens from a single platform. It also offers data and measurement tools so advertisers can see how campaigns perform and adjust spending in real time.

Operations: Trade Desk generates about US$3.0b in revenue from its advertising technology platform, with roughly US$2.5b from the United States and about US$475 million from international markets.

Market Cap: US$6.4b

Trade Desk sits at the heart of connected TV and data driven advertising, where brands want clear evidence that every dollar works. The stock has been hit hard in 2026 as growth slowed, margins softened and analysts reacted with downgrades. For investors, that mix of weaker recent results, heavy AI and data center spend, and a rebuilt C suite raises questions about execution, concentration in large US clients and competition from the big platforms. At the same time, the company still reports very high client retention, long term partnerships across major streaming and retail media channels, and a valuation that some analysts and models view as cheaper than its long run potential. The key issue for investors is whether current pressure represents a temporary reset or a signal of deeper change in Trade Desk’s story.

Growth at Trade Desk looks temporarily stalled on the surface, yet the stock’s valuation and client retention suggest a different story. Get the full context in the analysis report for Trade Desk and see what the current reset might really be setting up.

monday.com (MNDY)

Overview: monday.com is a Tel Aviv based software company that offers a cloud Work OS, giving teams visual tools to manage projects, sales pipelines, product development, customer support, and more in one place. Its modular apps like monday work management, monday CRM, monday dev and monday service aim to replace scattered spreadsheets and point tools with a single, flexible workflow platform.

Operations: monday.com generates about US$1.37b from Internet Software & Services.

Market Cap: US$3.7b

monday.com offers a founder led software platform that sits at the intersection of work management and AI, with strong earnings growth, rising margins and a growing suite of products from core work management to CRM and service. The shift toward an AI Work Platform, backed by over US$1.5b in cash and recent cost savings from a 20% workforce reduction, is starting to reshape how customers automate workflows. At the same time, heavy spending on marketing, dependence on search driven customer acquisition and increased competition create execution risk, especially as growth guidance has turned more cautious. For investors, a key question is whether this mix of AI momentum and disciplined reinvestment can turn today’s valuation and mixed sentiment into a longer term compounding story.

monday.com’s shift toward an AI Work Platform, supported by more than US$1.5b in cash and recent cost savings, could be masking the real risk reward skew. Get the analyst forecasts for monday.com

Seeking Fresh Alternatives Before Others?

Some stocks gain momentum quietly, then take off once the crowd catches on. Spot fresh ideas while they are still under the radar for now and act now.

• Chase dependable income streams before yields get compressed by demand with the 9 dividend fortresses that focuses on companies built to support regular payouts.
• Catch the early phase of AI momentum by scanning the 70 profitable AI stocks that aren't just burning cash where cash generative businesses fund growth without relying solely on fresh capital.
• Track the energy transition story while it still feels early through the 90 nuclear energy infrastructure stocks that spotlights companies tied to long term infrastructure themes.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.