Technology stocks offer compelling investment opportunities that no other segment of the market can come close to matching.
Whether it’s the promise of some new breakthrough technology to make our lives easier, or a new must-have product, tech stocks excel at selling a vision of something better to both consumers and investors.
Fortunately, Canada has an abundance of great technology companies for investors to consider.
No mention of tech-based companies would be complete without mentioning BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX: BB)(NYSE: BB). Former investors in the Waterloo-based company that have bypassed the company over the past few years would be well served in taking a second glance at BlackBerry, which has turned around nicely and returned to profitability under the stewardship of CEO John Chen.
BlackBerry is no longer predominately known as the manufacturer of small devices with “chicklet” keyboards — the company has transitioned to a software-first business model that places an emphasis on providing a secure environment for its growing list of enterprise customers.
Beyond the enterprise segment, BlackBerry has a duo of promising solutions, including the BlackBerry Radar IoT asset-tracking system and the company’s QNX operating system, which is already found in 60 million vehicles worldwide and set to become a dominant force in the growing autonomous driving segment of the economy.
Shopify Inc. (TSX: SHOP)(NYSE:SHOP) is a software company with a simple, yet brilliant offering. The company has created a means of creating an e-commerce storefront for websites that can be set up in a fraction of the time that traditional e-commerce sites are set up and is modular enough to allow the addition of various plug-ins and extensions based on the needs of each company.
The platform has proven incredibly successful, with over $55 billion in goods and services passing through the platform, which now boasts over 600,000 businesses. That success has passed on to the stock price, with Shopify surging over 50% in the past year, and in the past two years that figure jumps to over 370%.
Stars Group Inc. (TSX:TSGI)(NASDAQ:TSG) is one of the most impressive long-term growth plays on the market, and that’s without taking into consideration a slew of recent announcements in the past few months that have propelled the potential of this online gambling software company into the stratosphere.
Critics of Stars Group have been vocal in recent years about the company’s over-reliance on its poker games, but last month those critics were finally silenced, as Stars Group acquired U.K.-based Sky Betting and Gaming.
The deal not only diversified the company’s portfolio to be less reliant on poker games but also set the stage for Stars Group to expand to the larger audience of smartphone-wielding betters.
