Euro area wage growth is slowing, which gives central banks slightly more room to keep policy steady while they watch energy driven inflation. That kind of pause lets investors look beyond short term swings and focus on businesses where founders still drive the mission and capital allocation. This article walks through three founder led companies from the screener that show how personal commitment can shape long term value.

The founder led stocks in the rest of this article are only a small sample, as the full screen surfaced 1,434 more companies with equally compelling narratives that are not covered here. If you want to identify and analyze the founder stories that best fit your own portfolio, head straight to the Founder-Led Companies screener.

On Holding (ONON)

Overview: On Holding is a Zurich based sportswear company that designs and sells premium performance running shoes, outdoor footwear and athletic apparel worldwide, led by co founder and CEO Olivier Bernhard, whose ongoing shareholding keeps founder incentives closely tied to the main On brand business. Its gear targets runners and active consumers and is sold through a mix of direct e commerce, owned stores and wholesale partners ranging from run specialty shops to lifestyle retailers.

Operations: On Holding currently generates about CHF 3.2b from athletic footwear, with reported regional data highlighting an Asia Pacific contribution of roughly CHF 616 million.

Market Cap: US$10.0b

On Holding gives you a founder led premium brand where Olivier Bernhard still has meaningful skin in the game and is visibly shaping product, pricing and the push into direct to consumer channels. The business combines high gross margins, earnings growth and Return on Equity with a focus on quality wholesale and online sales, but that comes with trade offs such as dependence on premium pricing and external borrowing. Recent share price volatility after Q2 2026 guidance cuts and wholesale softness contrasts with stronger DTC trends and margin guidance. For investors who focus on founder leadership and can tolerate swings, On Holding’s combination of founder ownership, brand strength and strategic ambitions may merit further research.

On Holding’s fast growing premium brand story can look very different once you unpack margins, founder incentives and capital needs side by side. Before the next guidance twist, read the analysis report for On Holding

Build your own founder-led growth shortlist

On Holding and the two other stocks in this article all came from the same Simply Wall St screener, but the real opportunity is setting up filters that match how you like to invest. Use our Screener to combine factors like growth, quality and balance sheet strength, or start with any of our curated Investing Ideas.

Baidu (BIDU)

Overview: Baidu is a Beijing based technology company best known for its Chinese search engine and Baidu App. It also runs AI powered services such as ERNIE Bot, AI Cloud and Apollo autonomous driving that are closely championed by founder Robin Li and central to its founder led AI strategy. Alongside this, Baidu operates online video platform iQIYI and a range of content and map services that round out its consumer and enterprise ecosystem.

Operations: Baidu currently generates about CN¥127.3b in revenue from the People’s Republic of China.

Market Cap: US$31.2b

Baidu offers exposure to a founder who is still actively steering the company’s AI and product roadmap, with Robin Li tying his legacy to platforms like ERNIE Bot, AI Cloud and Apollo Go rather than relying only on mature ad and video income. That ambition comes with trade offs, including pressure on margins, negative free cash flow and heavy spending on AI infrastructure at a time when core online marketing revenue has declined and AI search monetization is still early. For investors who can handle those execution and regulatory risks, Baidu’s mix of large scale consumer reach, AI infrastructure initiatives and autonomous driving partnerships points to a potentially different earnings profile if the founder led AI strategy is executed successfully at scale.

Baidu’s AI push could be masking a very different earnings story than its mature ad business suggests. Before that gap either closes or widens, scan the analyst forecasts for Baidu for the twist investors often miss.

Klarna Group (KLAR)

Overview: Klarna Group is a founder-led digital bank and payments company that lets consumers pay in full, pay later or spread larger purchases over time through its BNPL and fair financing services, all embedded in the Klarna app, card and merchant checkout. Alongside this core founder-driven BNPL offering, Klarna also runs advertising and digital retail banking features, which broaden how the business monetises its user and merchant relationships.

Operations: Klarna generates about $4.0b from data processing and payment services, with revenue spread across the United States at $1.5b, Germany at $921 million, the United Kingdom at $479 million and $1.1b from other countries.

Market Cap: $5.3b

Klarna Group presents a founder-shaped BNPL and digital banking story. The core pay later and flexible financing products still reflect the original vision that merchants should sell more without pushing customers into open-ended credit card debt. The business currently relies on external borrowing rather than customer deposits. This raises funding risk even as revenue forecasts, margin focus and a recent move into modest profitability indicate a maturing model. Valuation appears modest relative to many fintech peers. Partnerships with Apple and major US retailers show how the founder-led product is being plugged into larger ecosystems. For investors who want exposure to a founder’s legacy and who also accept execution, funding and regulatory risk, Klarna may warrant closer examination.

Klarna Group’s shift toward modest profitability and partnerships with giants like Apple often hides the bigger question. Read the analyst forecasts for Klarna Group to see how its BNPL engine could reshape the next chapter.

Seeking Alternatives Before The Crowd Moves

Fresh stock ideas can attract attention quickly once momentum starts building and prices move. Use these screens while they are still under the radar and consider them early.

• Identify companies building quiet momentum before headlines focus on them by scanning the 19 high quality undiscovered gems that currently sit outside most watchlists.
• Explore resilient income plays that aim to keep paying while share prices swing by reviewing the curated 12 dividend fortresses shortlist.
• Review potential infrastructure enablers by checking which companies sit inside the 39 power grid technology and infrastructure stocks while they still trade on older expectations.

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.