Do you have some money saved up that you want to put to work? Considering investing it in a couple of Canada’s top growth stocks —  Shopify (TSX: SHOP)(NYSE:SHOP) and Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD.B). Both stocks have performed exceptionally well over the years, and there’s reason to be optimistic that they aren’t done yet, either. Here’s a closer look at why both stocks could be a great place to invest $5,000 today.
Couche-Tard
Over the past decade, Couche-Tard has been one of the TSX’s best stocks. During that time, it’s risen more than 860% in value. Not only has it soared past the TSX’s 34% returns during that time, but it’s even significantly outperformed the NASDAQ, which has climbed 375% in value over that same period. The convenience store giant has been growing via acquisition, and its Circle K brand stores are found all over the world.
Although the company is struggling this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, as people get back to their normal lives and are traveling regularly again, Couche-Tard’s numbers should get a boost. In November, Couche-Tard released its second-quarter results for the period ending Oct. 11, and sales for the first six months are only US$20.4 billion, down 27% year over year. But the good news for investors is that the company is still producing strong profits, with its net income of US$1.5 billion a 37% improvement from a year ago. Couche-Tard has been able to adapt and bring down its expenses during the pandemic, and that’s why the stock isn’t struggling badly this year — it’s up 3% thus far in 2020.
If Couche-Tard can grow its bottom line in a challenging year like this, investors can only imagine how well it might do when the economy gets back to normal. And that could mean great things for your portfolio if you decide to invest in this stock.
Shopify
Another hot TSX stock is tech giant Shopify. Unlike Couche-Tard, this isn’t a stock you can expect will produce consistently high profits. But one thing you can expect is a lot of sales growth. In its most recent quarterly results, Shopify’s sales of US$767.4 million were nearly double that US$390.6 million it reported a year ago. The company’s gotten a big boost from a rise in online sales this year. Online shopping is going nowhere but up, not in an economy that’s become more tech-savvy this year with many people learning how to videoconference and becoming more comfortable with doing more things on the internet. Stores are focusing more on their e-commerce sites, and online shopping is not a trend that’s likely to die down, even when the pandemic is over.
The big negative about Shopify stock is that it isn’t cheap — trading at around 50 times its sales (Couche-Tard, by comparison, normally trades at less than one times its revenue over the past 12 months). However, Shopify has the potential to captivate and attract investors with its impressive numbers, and that’s why in just five years it’s skyrocketed more than 3,500%. Even if it doesn’t replicate those returns in the next five years, there’s still a good chance you can get a great return by buying shares of Shopify today.
