A dividend stock trading well below its five-year highs can feel uncomfortable, but that discomfort is often where opportunity lives. Share prices move faster than businesses, especially in sectors tied to commodities or economic cycles. When a dividend stock still generates cash, pays a dividend, and owns valuable long-life assets, a lower share price can simply mean the market is pricing in fear rather than permanent damage. For long-term investors, that disconnect can create a chance to buy income and future upside at the same time, as long as the balance sheet and payout remain intact.
Source: Getty Images
TECK
Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.B) is a clear example of a dividend stock that the market has cooled on despite its underlying strength. Teck is one of Canada’s largest diversified miners, with exposure to copper, zinc, steelmaking coal, and energy. After a strong run in prior years, the dividend stock has pulled back as investors worried about global growth, China demand, and volatile commodity prices. Over the past year, however, TECK.B traded sideways to down, then climbed back upwards.
That weaker performance had more to do with sentiment than with collapse. Mining stocks often move ahead of the cycle and then retreat when growth expectations soften. Teck has also been navigating a strategic transition after selling its steelmaking coal business, which created short-term uncertainty about capital allocation and future earnings mix. Markets tend to dislike uncertainty, even when it comes with long-term benefits. As a result, the share price has reflected caution rather than confidence.
Into earnings
Looking at recent earnings helps explain why the story is not broken. Teck continues to generate meaningful cash flow, supported by its zinc operations and its growing copper exposure. Earnings fluctuated quarter to quarter, which is normal for a miner, but the dividend stock remained profitable and disciplined. Importantly for income investors, Teck maintained its base dividend and used excess cash for special dividends and share buybacks when conditions allowed.
From a valuation perspective, the pullback made Teck more interesting. The dividend stock trades at a modest multiple relative to its normalized earnings power, especially when copper demand over the next decade is considered. Copper is central to electrification, renewable energy, data centres, and electric vehicles, and Teck owns high-quality copper assets with long reserve lives. When commodity prices eventually improve, earnings can rebound quickly, and miners with strong assets tend to re-rate just as fast.
Looking ahead
While the dividend stock is still down from its five-year highs, there’s room for more movement. Early in the year, Teck fully exited gold by selling its remaining minority stake in the Canadian Malartic Complex to Agnico Eagle. That move officially closed the chapter on the Yamana deal. It removed non-core exposure and reinforced Teck’s plan to be a base-metals company, not a diversified miner. Investors largely saw this as clean and disciplined.
Teck also spent 2025 deploying capital from the coal spin-off and asset sales. With Elk Valley Resources separated, Teck used proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet, return capital to shareholders, and fund copper growth. The market watched closely to see how much cash went to buybacks versus reinvestment. Capital discipline became a key test. By the end of 2025, the takeaway for investors was clear. Teck no longer tried to be everything. It exited gold, moved past coal, and leaned into copper with conviction. And now, it has the cash on hand to support its dividend.
Bottom line
The takeaway is simple. A dividend stock being down does not automatically make it risky, just as a stock being up does not make it safe. Teck’s recent weakness reflects the cycle, not a collapse in its business. And right now, it looks like it’s moving towards more strength. Yet even now, here’s what investors can bring in through its dividend alone with a $7,000 investment.
| COMPANY | RECENT PRICE | NUMBER OF SHARES | DIVIDEND | ANNUAL TOTAL PAYOUT | FREQUENCY | TOTAL INVESTMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TECK.B | $62.21 | 112 | $0.50 | $56.00 | Quarterly | $6,979.52 |
Overall, sometimes the best dividend buys are the ones the market has temporarily lost interest in.
