As different as they may be as individuals, there's one thing the nearly 5 billion people who are online these days have in common.

They're all data broadcasters.

Let me explain. Every time any of us goes online to shop or do research, we generate a wide range of information about our searches, locations, buying habits, and much more.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

And I literally mean everything. Whatever you post, click on, or read in your social media feeds. Your web searches, your online purchases, products you looked at online but didn't buy - even the location of your phone when it connects to your wireless provider...

It's all data that someone, somewhere is collecting and usually then selling on to someone else.

The value of that data is immense, a market on pace to be worth $103 billion by 2027. Currently, we generate it, but don't reap the monetary benefits.

But there is a great way to see some potential profit from what's called "big data," by investing in a tech leader that has a unique hook in the market and a giant head start on potential competitors.

Let me show you why this company has over doubled the return of the S&P 500 over the last year...

It Ain't How Much Data You Have, It's What That Data Does

Your best move to make in this growing sector is to invest in a company that knows how to monetize actionable data.

That's where Verisk Analytics Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSK) comes in. This company has been analyzing risk and opportunities for insurance, energy, and financial services industries since its start in 1971.

But its ability to really dig deep has been leveraged significantly with advances in computing models.

That's how Verisk serves its various customers across several industries. Insurance, after all, is all about data. Insurance companies examine all the risks involved in insuring a business and how much it may cost to mitigate those risks, or how much it would cost to pay off if those risks arise.

And while Verisk was merely an insurance advisory rating agency for 25 years, it has since pivoted to something far more lucrative - providing powerful models for its data-rich clients to act and profit on.

For example, in the oil and gas sector, Verisk tracks more than 55 million distinct pieces of information, helping guide client decisions about where to invest, and just as important, where to avoid.

In finance, credit card issuers use Verisk's data to analyze transaction data, spot fraud, gauge the effectiveness of promotions, and adjust fees. The firm tracks more than 5 billion transactions and offers a 2.2 petabyte data set to banking industry clients.

Of course, once a company starts using and acting on Verisk's data analysis, it's hard to stop. That's why the company can boast that at least 80% of its revenue has been recurring, not one-off, since 2016.

It's like putting sales and profits on auto-pilot.

And this is a shareholder-oriented firm buying back shares. In the third quarter of this year alone, Verisk bought back $150 million worth of shares. Another roughly $680 million in share buybacks is already authorized.

Since the market rebounded last May 12, Verisk's stock has doubled the S&P 500's return.

With so much built-in support for the stock, it should continue to capitalize on the need for actionable data for many years to come.