Opinions Todd Johnson
Bombardier Inc (B)BBD.B.TOPAST TOP PICKSep 22, 2015
Todd JohnsonStock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 04, 2026. Market Open.
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Aerospace is a great and growing industry. Catalysts for positive change, such as Canadian contract and potential NATO contract. Paid down debt, has become a pure-play business jet leader. Now has a dynamite balance sheet. Strong jet-delivery growth, margins expanding.
New order book grew 43% in past year. Services increased 25% YOY. Will generate $1B in 2026. No dividend.
David Burrows
Pretty impressive. From near-bankruptcy to where we are today. Debt brought down, leverage profile now 2.6x (fairly good). Canadian government contracts, tailwinds from defence spending. Good growth profile. Increased FCF probably put to buybacks instead of dividends.
It has had a very successful turn-around. It sort of downsized in 2020 and focused on business jets. At that time there was too much debt but the balance sheet is much improved now. The price then was around $10 so it has been a 25 bagger in 5 years. Since it is priced much more fully now, he would trim and not add.
Doing very well. Best player in private aviation. Last week's White House tweet is a TACO Trump opportunity. Made US acquisition today, so it's not retrenching. Likes it.
Brian MaddenClassic example where you can't overreact to the news. When that announcement from the US came out the stock saw a bit of a dip, which has now mostly been recouped. Good company, good stock. It's all about political posturing, and sometimes companies get caught up in that.
Phases 1, 2, and 3 of the business cycle are the expansion phases and they typically last a year. His team believes that last year was phase 1, so now we're in phase 2. This matters because industrials typically do well in phase 2.
Likes it, chart looks great. He'd continue to hold. If it goes up another 1%, you could trim that 1%. If it takes out somewhere in the $240 range (which is a pretty good level of support), that's when he'd trim a bigger portion. A move below $240 indicates that something significant is happening.
Market-leading capabilities. Best of breed, ahead of competitors. Building good after-market parts and service business -- not exactly recurring revenues, but predictable. Small, but growing, business selling to NATO allies. Lots of ways to win. Likes it here.
Brian MaddenContinues to execute. We have this K-shaped economy, and this name is at the top end of the K. Continues to build more business jets and sell more. Newer, faster jets are in demand from top corporate clients. Multiple defense initiatives, such as with Saab. Good work getting balance sheet in order, numbers continue to accelerate. Likes it here.
Bruce Campbell (2)Pleased with performance. Continues to like. Runup this month due to contract to deliver 50 aircraft. Pure play on private aviation. A generation or half a generation ahead of competitors in medium- and long-range aircraft. It's the best on a range of metrics, and its money-is-no-object customers don't comparison shop. After-market parts and services business. Chance to win defense contracts.
Enjoying a moment in the sun after 20 years under a dark cloud. Most investors haven't yet realized that, so more upside.
Brian MaddenGreat breakout, with a parabolic move. You never know when the parabolic move will end, but you do know that it will and pull back. The pullback will land well above the last peak. Overall, it's on a tear. For new $$, wait to see it pull back, as now it's probably overbought.
Gaining altitude. Technological leadership in medium- and long-range aircraft. Order book looks pretty robust, production slate is full. After-market parts and service provide stable revenue. Airplanes can be repurposed for military use, and Canada's recently upped defense spending commitments.
Long and complex supply chain, and tariffs are still a wild card. So not out of the woods yet. Stock breaking out to fresh all-time highs speaks to its resilience and to worst-case tariff scenario probably not materializing.
Brian MaddenDemand is off the charts. Bump in the road right now is about tariffs on parts, steel, aluminum. Much different business than before. Generating lots of free cash, balance sheet improving rapidly. Manufacturing is a tough business, and he'd rather a segment with more certainty with a stock like TDG.
(A Top Pick May 22/14. Down 14.7%.) (7.35% bond maturing in 2026.) Pretty much everything went wrong about 9 months ago. Bought this because he felt that over time their new C series would be built and would be quite successful. Since then, their business jet division had some issues and they had to shut down a Lear jet plane project. Their Global 7000-8000 has been delayed. Even their Global 5000-6000 has seen lower sales. Holding this bond going forward should be fine. They face challenges, but feels most of those challenges are in the rear-view mirror. Once they start selling the C series they won’t be spending as much developing or burning as much cash flow.