Steve Jobs once said that he wanted to “make a dent in the universe.” The legendary founder and CEO of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) certainly dinged the cosmos, by creating astonishing products that transformed our lives. In the process, he helped make a lot of people rich.

Since Apple went public in 1980, the stock has gained more than 17,000%. (Let that figure sink in a moment.) The lesson here is that the surest path to big profits is to find companies that herald “game-changing” technologies, products or business models.

As an investor, you should continually scour the business landscape to pinpoint profit catalysts that can propel a stock to market-beating heights. These catalysts can be a corporate acquisition, partnership, product, or regulatory approval…anything new that promises to upend the playing field’s status quo.

Recent case in point: Verizon Communications’ (NYSE: VZ) purchase of social media pioneer Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO). After months of speculation, the telecom giant in July confirmed that it would buy the core business of ailing Yahoo for $4.83 billion.

Verizon is the victor in a five-month bidding war for Yahoo’s coveted assets, beating out rival telecom AT&T (NYSE: T). Yahoo was one of the earliest entrants in the digital revolution and at first was exceedingly successful. In recent years, though, Yahoo has fallen behind its larger peers such as Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Google.

Why would Verizon want to spend billions of dollars on a technological “has been” from the days of Web 1.0? Through its bold move to buy Yahoo, telecom stalwart Verizon will be the financial winner over the long term. Verizon is building up a formidable portfolio, by combining Yahoo’s core business with AOL, which Verizon purchased in May 2015 for $4.4 billion.

Although Yahoo’s management has struggled to monetize its business, the company’s core assets remain exceedingly valuable. They include email and messaging services, advertising technology, and online content sites, along with other products and services.

With Yahoo under its tent, Verizon will now have the technological and marketing clout to go up against heavy-hitters such as Google and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB).

“The acquisition of Yahoo will put Verizon in a highly competitive position as a top global media company and help accelerate our revenue stream in digital advertising,” said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam in late July.

Verizon’s move is a clear “profit catalyst” and a signal to buy Verizon stock now, before the rest of the investment herd catches on to the true magnitude of this event.

Verizon is envisioning a future when its most valuable customer isn’t a teenager or parent signing up for a family cellphone plan at the local Verizon outlet, but instead a corporation that wants to reach those end users through advertising and is willing to pay Verizon to do so. That’s a brand new online universe.

Editors Note: Verizon’s purchase of Yahoo! is one of many the telecom giant has made in recent years. For instance, Verizon recently spent $4.4 billion for a controversial technology our special situations team is following very closely. That’s because this area is one of the hottest in the market for M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity, and they’ve centered in on one company as an imminent buyout candidate. You can get the full story by clicking here.

John Persinos is an investment analyst at Investing Daily. He owns stock in Apple and Verizon.