2 Canadian Stocks I’d Buy if I Only Wanted to Check My Portfolio Once a Month

By Amy Legate-Wolfe at The Motley Fool Canada

Investing does not require a dozen charts and a daily refresh habit. Most people do better with a few high-quality businesses that can keep performing while the news spins in circles. The trick sits in picking Canadian stocks with real assets, steady demand, and managers who treat costs like it is their own money. When you own that kind of stock, checking once a month can feel less like neglect and more like sanity.

CP

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (TSX:CP) fits the once-a-month test as it owns a network you cannot replicate. It runs a rail system that connects Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, moving grain, autos, energy products, and everyday goods. Over the last year, the story has stayed focused on execution. It kept tightening its operations, ran longer and heavier trains, and pushed productivity higher even while some shipping markets stayed soft. Investors also watched trade policy headlines and shifting industrial demand, but the business kept doing what great railways do best: move more with less.

Its latest results showed that discipline clearly. In the fourth quarter of 2025, revenue rose 1% to $3.9 billion, while it delivered a record operating ratio of 58.9%, which tells you it spent less to earn each dollar. Reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.20, while core adjusted diluted EPS rose 3% to $1.33. For the full year 2025, revenue increased 4% to $15.1 billion and reported diluted EPS rose to $4.51, with core adjusted diluted EPS at $4.61. That mix suggests it can grow earnings even when volume growth does not look flashy.

All this, and the Canadian stock still trades around 26 times trailing earnings, so the market still expects steady growth. Management’s 2026 outlook leans into that expectation, calling for low double-digit growth in core adjusted diluted EPS and mid-single digit volume growth. It also plans capital spending of $2.7 billion, about 15% lower than 2025, which can help free up cash if the cycle stays uneven.

TFII

TFI International (TSX:TFII) also earns a spot on a “check monthly” list, even though transportation can look cyclical. It runs a large set of trucking and logistics businesses across North America, including less-than-truckload, truckload, and logistics services. Over the last year, the Canadian stock dealt with softer freight demand and a market that kept pricing tight. It also created its own headline moment when it floated the idea of moving its corporate domicile to the U.S., then backed off after pushback from investors.

The latest earnings reflected a softer freight backdrop, but also real cash generation. In the fourth quarter of 2025, total revenue came in at US$1.9 billion, down from US$2.1 billion a year earlier. Diluted EPS was US$0.87, while adjusted diluted EPS was US$1.09. Full-year 2025 revenue totalled US$7.9 billion, with net income at US$310.6 million and diluted EPS US$3.72. So not a blowout year, but it shows the transport firm still makes serious money in a tougher tape.

The valuation looks like the market cannot decide whether to trust the cycle. On recent figures, it trades around 31 times trailing earnings, but the forward sits near 14.5, which implies analysts expect earnings to rebound. Management’s near-term guidance stays cautious, with first-quarter 2026 adjusted diluted EPS expected in a $0.50 to $0.60 range, assuming no major change in the operating environment.

Bottom line

If you only wanted to look once a month, these two names offer a clean mix. CP gives you a hard-to-copy rail network with improving efficiency and a steady long-term runway. TFI gives you a diversified transportation operator that can throw off cash and buy smart assets when the cycle feels uncomfortable. Neither one will glide in a straight line, but both have the kind of real-world backbone that can make long-term investing feel simpler than the internet makes it sound.

The post 2 Canadian Stocks I’d Buy if I Only Wanted to Check My Portfolio Once a Month appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Canadian Pacific Kansas City and TFI International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

2026