Sheer size doesn't guarantee future growth, though. Indeed, the bigger the organization gets, the more difficult it can be to find new ways to tack on even more size. For any company to be the basis for a life-changing investment, it must be able to firmly outpace the mere rising tide of inflation and population growth.

JPMorgan Chase is out with its fourth-quarter results and it's a blowout report. Here are the highlights: Profit was up 50%. That amounted to $4.81 a share, well above what analysts polled by FactSet expected at $4.

JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday posted record quarterly and annual earnings and revenue, reinforcing the company’s status as the biggest and most profitable bank in U.S. history.