New Leaders Push Aside Former Stars.(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)(INSIDE THE 100)

Byline: CHRIS GESSEL

The stock market, like the economy, follows an incessant path of creative destruction. New technology, processes and products continually supplant the old and tired in a capitalist system.

The concept, named by economist Joseph Schumpeter, is constantly at work in the stock market. New market leaders always challenge the old guard.

The previous leading stocks don't necessarily disappear. Indeed, they often garner coverage in the news media long past their prime. Yet most leaders of the 1990s simply don't boast the profits and stock performance that once made them dynamic forces in the market.

You can plainly see creative destruction at work in the Investor's Business Daily 100. Scan this week's list and you'll find only a few stars of the 1990s. Names such as Yahoo and Amazon.com have made the transition, whereas hundreds of other former leaders have not.

The majority of IBD 100 companies are making their mark for the first time. Many may be familiar to committed investors. But more than a few names might be new to even dedicated market watchers.

Recent IBD 100 additions include Talx. The company ...