When the stock market really takes a dive, and investors are more than ready to throw in the towel as their pain threshold is breached by the negative momentum, it can be a good idea to hold your nose and find at least something (it doesn’t have to be a most at-risk, falling knife of a stock that’s down by the most) to buy. Indeed, you should definitely think about pacing your buys when the stock market falls off a bit of a cliff, as exhausting one’s cash reserve in the earlier innings of a stock market meltdown is less than ideal.
Either way, not buying anything or, worse, selling stocks into a steep market dip may just set you back. Either way, the TSX Index is starting to look up again. And while the latest bounce off recent lows after the “half-correction” (it was a very mild drawdown just north of 5%) is very much underway, I still think there are bargains to be had for investors looking for value.
Indeed, all it will take is more chatter of reciprocal tariffs for the recent slate of gains to be wiped out at the drop of a hat. Either way, focus on the long term and don’t be too deterred if a 2% surge is quickly followed by an equally sharp drop in the very next day. That’s the nature of high-volatility environments, after all. And it’s sudden surges in volatility that new investors should learn to invest through rather than avoid via exiting stocks after the herd has already made their move. Indeed, being a contrarian is hard but can be tremendously rewarding for those with lengthy investment horizons.
Alimentation Couche-Tard
Shares of convenience store firm Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD) shot back above the $70 per-share level after a solid quarterly earnings result. Indeed, the third quarter (fiscal year 2025) numbers weren’t incredible. However, the stock was in a weak spot (bear market territory) leading into the big quarterly reveal. I guess you could say the numbers were much better than feared.
And while the 7-Eleven deal now looks somewhat less likely given the regulatory hurdles, I still believe that ATD stock stands to gain should more certainty be given regarding the merger and acquisition path forward. Sure, 7-Eleven would be nice for Couche-Tard as it continues its global expansion. However, there are a ton of alternative opportunities as well.
Indeed, for such a firm with so many options, there’s more than one way to grow earnings at an impressive rate as we enter the latter half of the decade. With an absurdly low 17.9 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple, a nice 1.11% dividend yield, and plenty of cash to allow for a massive acquisition (7-Eleven or something else), I wouldn’t pass up on the name while it’s going for the cheapest it has all year. The stock is off around 18% from its high and may very well find a middle ground in 7-Eleven after recently signing a confidentiality pact to consider taking over some U.S. stores.
