If you’re anything like me, odds are you couldn’t live without your smartphone. 81% of Americans own one, and for many of them, it’s the first piece of technology they use each day, and the last one each night.

That means that one particular small-cap tech leader I know has the power to reach four out of every five Americans every single day before they even get out of bed, brush their teeth, or eat breakfast.

And then, it has the chance to reach them again more times throughout the day than I can count, when they order food, check the weather, make a call, or even pay electronically at a store.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

It’s no wonder, then, that I believe in an aggressive firm that has a stranglehold on what I call the App Economy, one on its way to being worth $407.31 billion in direct sales.

No wonder the market is so lucrative. There are nearly 2.9 billion smartphones in the world today.

And when you order up a new smartphone, you’ll see that it already comes with a handful of pre-loaded apps.

In most cases, your wireless provider has turned to this young company to help out.

This is a godsend for many of its clients.

Take ride-sharing firm Lyft Inc. (LYFT) for example. The company I have in mind helped Lyft add 1.9 million new customers through a geo-tracking app.

Now you know why the company recently reported earnings growth of a stunning 320%.

Let me show why the stock’s run is just getting started…

Everything in One

I believe it’s almost impossible to overstate the importance that apps play in the digital economy.

Consider that analytics firm App Annie says that in the next few years this field’s full economic impact will hit $6.3 trillion.

Analysts at the app-making firm Buildfire forecast sales of mobile downloads to hit $189 billion this year. And eMarketer says direct in-app advertising revenue alone will hit $201 billion next year.

I can certainly attest to the power of apps in my own life. My wife and I use Instagram to keep in touch with our adult daughters, often commenting on their stories.

I use apps for tracking my health, learning Spanish, paying to park my car, and Dropbox for uploading large files from my phone. And I’m just getting started.

When I go skiboarding up at Tahoe, I use OpenSnow to track the weather and Ski Tracks to monitor the number of runs I’ve made and my speeds – with the fastest yet being 50.5 miles per hour.

I keep track of my cryptocurrency investments with my Coinbase app. I used Shazam to build a contemporary hard rock collection that now totals 837 songs covering some 2.21 days’ worth of music.

With this kind of momentum, it should come as no surprise that a leader in this exciting space has racked up a very impressive list of wins. It ‘s working with more than 40 of the world ‘s top mobile operators and can support more than 200 unique devices.

We’re talking about blue-chip carriers like Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS), Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), AT&T Inc. (T), and Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY) just to name a few.

But wait, there’s more. The firm boasts 2.1 billion apps preloaded across all devices globally. It engages 8 million new devices per month and already has more than 250 million devices already installed with the firm’s software.

As you can see, Digital Turbine Inc. (APPS) is one heck of a ride. Based in Austin, TX, it only reported its first quarterly profit just a little more than two years ago.

Since then, there’s been no turning back…

The App Accelerator

See, Digital Turbine provides all the tools a phone service provider needs, with a suite of customizable templates that play up the phone’s most advanced features and services.

And the stage is set for much deeper ties with its client base. Digital Turbine is now building out many more tools and features, such as “Single-Tap'” and “Smart Folders.”

A deal it struck three years ago is really paying off. Back then, Digital Turbine placed itself in front of many more potential clients by signing a multi-year deal with Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) to extend many features of its Insight software to clients across Asia.

As excited as I am about Qualcomm, I see much more upside ahead for Digital Turbine as one of its key suppliers.

Of course, the Covid pandemic has only made this market even more lucrative.

And I for one don’t think we will ever go back to life exactly as it was before, meaning apps will play critical roles in our lives for years to come.

According to App Annie, the global average amount of hours spent using mobile apps jumped by 25% in the third quarter, compared to a year ago.

The firm also forecast that mobile users spent a whopping one billion hours for holiday shopping last year. That’s a 50% increase from 2019, showing just how much Covid has increased the use of mobile apps.

Add it all up and you can why Digital Turbine is growing so fast.

In last year’s fourth quarter, it increased per-share profits by 320%. That was more than twice the rate of growth for sales, show that the firm is growing quickly while also increasing profit margins.

Over the past three years, earnings have increased an average of 239%.

To be clear, that kind of growth simply can’t continue indefinitely into the future.

So, let’s get conservative and cut that average way back. If Digital Turbine only grew earnings at 20% of that rate, we’d still see a double in just 18 months.

But to be extra cautious, let’s cut that in half and project a double in three years.

This is one of those stocks that can really put your portfolio on the fast track.

It doesn’t take many stocks like APPS to help you achieve financial freedom.