Europe has more going for it than the headlines suggest. It is home to the world’s most advanced chip equipment builders, the first to market in GLP-1 drugs, and a pioneer in green cement and production-grade autonomous driving. And yet, the continent is still routinely portrayed as the “sick man” of the global economy: dragged down by weak R&D investment, a lack of digital champions, fragmented markets, and inflexible labor laws.

This portrayal isn’t unfounded—as the Draghi report made evident—but it isn’t the end of the story. A group of European companies, spanning pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, utilities, and consumer goods, is defying the narrative, and has learned to turn adversity into advantage. In the face of a pandemic, an energy crisis, supply chain breakdowns, and deep geopolitical rifts, they’ve outpaced their global peers in corporate vitality: a proprietary metric developed by the BCG Henderson Institute that takes a composite view of financial and nonfinancial strength to assess a company’s ability not just to grow but to sustain value-creating growth over time.

Led by CEOs who combine discipline, purpose, and long-term vision, these “vital” companies keep Europe in the game, often outside the spotlight but at the very core of its renewal. Their resilience offers lessons for company leaders keen to be part of Europe’s next chapter of progress.