For fans of the Canadian blue chips, there are many compelling buy candidates to stash on one’s radar today. Of course, buying shares of a fast gainer seems like a recipe for pain once momentum turns. However, I still think that taking market timing out of the equation is the best way to go if you see value (or a fair deal) on your radar.
With the market off to a rather hot start to 2026, perhaps sticking with the proven performers is the way to go, even if the value to be had isn’t the best in the world. Perhaps paying a fair multiple for a fundamentally sound blue-chip titan can be a good move over the long term. In this piece, we’ll look at a pair of fantastic Canadian juggernauts whose shares still look buyable despite skewing towards the pricier side of their historical range.
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Shopify
Are shares of Shopify (TSX: SHOP) worth giving a second look now that they’re down just over 8% from their highs? Undoubtedly, it’s tough to tell when or if Shopify can become Canada’s largest company by market cap again. The $298.2 billion valuation is massive, but it still has a way to go if it’s to capture that number-one spot. Given the recent volatility spike in the tech names, growth investors may wish to add incrementally into any pullbacks.
With AI potentially paving the way for a sales growth re-acceleration, perhaps the hefty multiple is worth paying up for. And while there’s always potential for shares to plunge further, especially if investors become reluctant to pay up for high-growth tech, I find SHOP stock to be going for a rather fair multiple, given its profound AI-driven catalysts and the potential for agentic AI to further improve the long-term narrative.
Though the 121 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) may seem absurdly expensive, I do find the e-commerce titan to be more than able to grow earnings in a way that could compress the multiple considerably in the next three years. If the AI revolution makes Shopify a winner, perhaps it’s too soon to be a profit-taker. Of course, if you’re overexposed to tech and AI, trimming to diversify is never a bad idea from a portfolio construction perspective.
Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada (TSX: RY) is a blue-chip behemoth that sports a $331 billion market cap at the time of writing. The banking giant is up close to 75% in the last two years, which is better than many tech stocks. With Royal Bank betting big on the next generation of tech, perhaps it’s the big Canadian bank that also stands to gain as the technology gains momentum.
Either way, Royal Bank has been a winner that’s worth sticking with, even as the multiple skews towards the hotter end, with shares trading at 16.7 times trailing P/E as of early January. The dividend yield is also quite small, now at 2.8%. Though income investors have better options elsewhere, I think most investors should stick with RY shares for the capital gains and dividend growth. It’s a giant that can stay on top of the TSX Index.
