Valued at a market cap of $147 billion, Enbridge (TSX:ENB) is among the most popular stocks in Canada. Since the start of 2001, the TSX stock has returned over 500% to shareholders. However, if we adjust for dividend reinvestments, cumulative returns are closer to 1,700%. It means a $1,000 investment in ENB stock back in 2001 would be worth over $18,000 today.
Despite its market-beating gains, Enbridge offers shareholders a tasty dividend yield of 5.7%, given an annual payout of $3.78 per share in 2025. Let’s see if the TSX dividend stock can continue to deliver outsized returns over the next few years.
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The bull case of investing in Enbridge stock
Enbridge stands out as one of North America’s most essential energy infrastructure companies, moving roughly 30% of the continent’s crude oil and transporting nearly 20% of the natural gas consumed in the United States.
The Calgary-based company operates through four main segments: liquids pipelines, gas transmission, gas distribution and storage, and renewable power generation. This diversified business model generates remarkably predictable cash flows with minimal commodity price exposure.
What makes Enbridge attractive for investors is its track record of stability and growth. The company has achieved financial guidance for 19 consecutive years and increased its dividend for 30 straight years, earning the Dividend Aristocrat status.
It maintains a sustainable payout ratio of 60-70% of distributable cash flow and has returned roughly $35 billion to shareholders over the past five years, with plans to return $40-45 billion over the next five years.
Recent accomplishments include closing a massive $19 billion acquisition of three U.S. gas utilities and placing $7 billion of capital into service. Enbridge is strategically positioned for the energy transition, connecting to all operating U.S. Gulf Coast LNG terminals while building out renewable energy capacity. The company has secured $29 billion in capital backlog focused on low-risk, brownfield expansion projects that should drive steady growth.
Enbridge is also committed to sustainability, targeting net-zero emissions from operations by 2050 while investing in hydrogen, renewable natural gas, and carbon capture technologies. With its combination of stable dividends, modest growth, and essential infrastructure assets, Enbridge offers investors a defensive play on North American energy demand.
A strong performance in Q2 of 2025
Enbridge delivered another strong quarter, posting record second-quarter EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) driven primarily by its recently acquired U.S. gas utilities and successful rate settlements in the Gas Transmission business.
The company’s solid first-half performance has management confident it will finish 2025 at the upper end of its EBITDA guidance range while staying on track to meet distributable cash flow targets. The balance sheet also looks healthy, with debt-to-EBITDA improving to 4.7 times as the acquired utilities contribute full quarters of earnings.
The Mainline continues to perform exceptionally well, transporting three million barrels per day during the quarter and achieving apportionment in six of the first eight months this year.
Management emphasized Enbridge’s stability during ongoing market volatility, noting that roughly 80% of EBITDA comes from assets with revenue inflators or regulatory cost recovery mechanisms. The business has virtually no commodity price exposure and minimal tariff risk.
With 29 new data centres within 50 miles of its natural gas systems and connections to 100% of Gulf Coast operating LNG export capacity, Enbridge sits in an ideal position to serve growing energy demand while maintaining its 30-year streak of dividend increases.
Analysts tracking the TSX dividend stock forecast adjusted earnings to expand from $2.80 per share in 2024 to $4 per share in 2029. Its annual dividend is expected to increase from $3.66 per share to $4.17 per share in this period.
Given consensus price targets, ENB stock trades at a 2% discount in October 2025. If we adjust for dividend reinvestments, cumulative returns could be closer to 7.5% over the next 12 months.
