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%GEOGroup (NYSE: $GEO ) is a small-cap stock that’s a leader in a big and fast-growing business: private %Prisons.

Based in Boca Raton, Florida, GEO Group builds and runs private prisons and mental health facilities in the U.S., Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (U.K.).

The company's facilities also include immigration detention centres, and minimum-security detention centres.

GEO Group also operates government-owned prisons and detention facilities through management contracts.

At the end of 2024, the company owned or managed 80,000 beds at 99 facilities worldwide. GEO Group is currently the largest prison operator in the U.S.

Setting aside the politics swirling around its business, there’s no arguing that GEO Group is at the forefront of a profitable and growing sector, especially in the U.S.

This fact is certainly reflected in the company’s share price performance.

This year, GEO stock is up 11% and trading at $31.28 U.S. per share in an otherwise down market. Over the past five years, the stock has risen 165%.

There’s no dividend and the shares look expensive trading at 140 times this year’s earnings estimates.

But with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump vowing to ramp-up deportations and imprisonments, GEO stock may justify a premium price right now.

With a market capitalization below $5 billion U.S., GEO Group is a small-cap security. And it has attracted interest from some notable investors.

Until recently, investor Michael Burry of “The Big Short” fame had been a long-time holder of GEO stock and was one of the company’s biggest shareholders.

While the business of prisons might not be for every investor, there’s no question that it is a thriving industry at this moment.