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The year-end is a perfect time to refresh your buy list. We spotlight two resilient hunting grounds—Financial Services and Consumer Staples—and walk through six names worth deeper research. You’ll get the narrative, the risks, and why each could compound beyond 2026.
 

You’ll Learn

Why Financials still work (and for whom)

• Big, diversified players can earn in up and down cycles. Lower rates help wealth & capital markets, but watch mortgage books and provisions for credit losses.
• Smaller lenders move faster—but feel pain first when consumers tighten.

Royal Bank (RY) — scale + multiple engines

• Half the business isn’t plain-vanilla banking; wealth & capital markets add torque.
• Risks: Canada’s mortgage cycle and the volatility of market-driven revenue.

Jack Henry (JKHY) — “picks & shovels” to US banks

• Sticky, recurring software (payments, core banking, fraud/AI) to thousands of smaller banks; a classic razor-blade model.
• Risks: slower bank tech spend in a downturn; fintech competition.

Intact Financial (IFC.TO) — data + discipline in P&C

• #1 in Canada, expanding in the US/UK, using scale and AI to price risk better.
• Risks: catastrophe losses (wildfires, storms) and tougher competition overseas.

Why Staples lagged—and why that’s interesting

• Boring in a boom, loved in a scare. If recession fears rise, quality staples can be a ballast while still growing.

Costco (COST) — paused price, not paused playbook

• Renewals >90%, steady new stores, small yield with high growth.
• Risks: premium valuation; margins sensitive to labor and input costs.

Loblaw (L.TO) — grocer + pharmacy + private label

• Scale, Shoppers Drug Mart, and strong house brands (President’s Choice/No Name) support margins.
• Risks: tight margins, rising labor, and fierce competition (WMT, COST, AMZN, Metro, etc.).

Casey’s (CASY) — the “mini-Couche-Tard”

• C-stores with real food (yes, pizza!) plus fuel; new store openings still move the needle.
• Risks: fuel margin swings, limited white space vs. bigger rivals, price-sensitive consumers.

Year-end portfolio hygiene

• Trim stretched or off-thesis holdings, write (and follow) buy/sell rules, and keep a live buy list so selling gets easier.

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