10 largest fast-growing companies

This maker of semiconductors for wired and wireless communications is in expansion mode. In the mobile market, the company has long relied on two primary customers: Nokia and Samsung. It recently announced plans to produce chips for other mobile customers in an effort to compete better against Qualcomm.

And on the networking side of the business, Broadcom recently announced plans to buy Netlogic Microsystems for $3.7 billion -- its largest acquisition ever. Netlogic makes chips for enterprise and large-scale mobile networks. The price tag was a 39% premium to Netlogic's market value, but analysts largely agreed that it makes sense for Broadcom to expand in this market.

NEXT: O'Reilly Automotive