DON'T BUY

He owns no telcos. Lots of competition, regulation uncertainty, lots of debt. Should cut dividend. Likes companies with high free cashflow to grow the business.

WATCH

DOGE has put the chill on companies with US government contracts. Stock's possibly fallen too much, as the company provides critical services. One of the best-run companies in Canada. Getting attractive. Before you buy, research how much US exposure it has. Long-term thesis is that everyone is looking to implement AI.

He'd like to have more clarity on government contracts, but this is why there are risks and rewards in investing.

DON'T BUY

Doesn't think it will start a dividend. You actually don't want companies to pay dividends when there are still so many growth opportunities. Investor Day listed 5 areas ripe for growth, problem is market's already pricing this in. Trading ~100x PE, too expensive for him.

DON'T BUY

His higher conviction for a long-term hold would be with the parent, BN.

DON'T BUY

Issues with money laundering. Stock price has started to recover, but yet to regain its lustre. He'd rather own the best-quality banks, which are RY and NA.

BUY

Loves what management is doing. Slower US economy and high interest rates have slowed home-related businesses. Reported very strong earnings and strong guidance, stock pulled back (not sure why). Excited by the long-term runway.

HOLD

The ultimate winner in inflation. Tough business, low margins, competitive. He owns COST. Loblaw is well run, as are MRU and EMP.A

HOLD

The ultimate winner in inflation. Tough business, low margins, competitive. He owns COST. Loblaw is well run, as are MRU and EMP.A

HOLD

The ultimate winner in inflation. Tough business, low margins, competitive. He owns COST. Loblaw is well run, as are MRU and EMP.A

TOP PICK

One of the world's best businesses with 3.4B users, who check their apps multiple times a day. When you own a distribution platform, it's everything -- and that's his thesis on AI. If only it would stop the silliness of the Metaverse, the stock would rocket 30% overnight. Attractive valuation of 25x PE for a double-digit grower. Yield is 0.31%.

(Analysts’ price target is $765.88)
TOP PICK

Auctions cars. More cars are being written off, often due to unfixable technological complexity. Perfect balance sheet. Getting into other verticals such as international markets and heavy equipment. Has grown by double digits for a long time, well run. Winners keep on winning. No dividend.

(Analysts’ price target is $63.67)
TOP PICK

Loves the CEO, who is a tremendous capital allocator. Despite pressure from DOJ and consumers, management is trying to make the company invincible. Buying and building venues across the globe -- they want to own the experience end-to-end. 

Company sees no slowdown in consumer spending, and EM potential is just in its infancy. Will be a bit bumpy due to anti-trust lawsuit, but it's profitable with lots of growth ahead. No dividend.

(Analysts’ price target is $166.53)
COMMENT
AI sector.

We're just at the beginning. It'll be tremendous. You want to own the companies that own the highways and the railroads in the industry, and that's the hyperscalers.

COMMENT
Tariffs.

We could see tomorrow by 10 am that they're not going to start. He believes Canada has a lame-duck government at the moment, so what's our negotiating point? Trump probably sees Canada as vulnerable, more so than Mexico at this point, and Canada's more of a friend to China than he would like to see.

Trump's going to choose to be a bully at this point, not unlike what he's trying to do with Russia and Ukraine. Somewhat embarrassing events at the White House on Friday. Brought tears to his eyes in a sense, because while there are a lot of things broken that Trump's trying to fix, his style leaves a lot to be desired.

We can expect a few more things to be broken before they get cleaned up, and that means more market volatility overall.

COMMENT
Scope of Trump Tariffs 2.0 and Canada.

Is he trying to do better than last time? Or just trying to do a deal because that's in his DNA? It's TBD. It won't be until we get a new leader in Canada, and a new mandate, that we can see solutions. 

Is the Canadian government going to fall right away? Will there be a confidence motion with the spring budget? Or are we going to wait until later in the year for the expected fall election? We probably need an election now to be able to get to the table with the US. That'll be interesting to watch in the coming weeks, but right now Canada's on its heels.