TFSA Investors: Don’t Chase Yield. Do This Instead

Skip the yield trap and consider a TFSA compounder tied to long-cycle space and defence spending instead of consumer demand.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio

Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, she wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband.

Social Media

Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest.

Favorite Investment Quote

“October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published February 15, 9:30 am EST

| More on: MDA

Key Points

MDA Space is built around multi-year satellite and robotics programs, giving it demand that can stay steady through slowdowns
A cancelled EchoStar contract showed customer risk, but new Canadian Space Agency work supports longer-term visibility.
Execution is the key watch in 2026, as margins and backlog conversion will drive the stock more than dividends.

Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) investors get tempted by big yields when the math looks so clean. They put cash in, collect income, and repeat. But yield can be a trap inside a TFSA as the market often hands out the highest payouts right before a cut. When a dividend drops, you lose income, and you often lose the share price too. Do this instead: buy a business with demand growth and rising cash flow, then let it compound tax-free. That’s why I’d consider this dividend stock today.

Piggy bank with word TFSA for tax-free savings accounts. — Source: Getty Images

MDA

MDA Space (TSX:MDA) fits that “don’t chase yield” idea as it’s built around long-cycle demand, not consumer moods. It designs and builds satellite systems, space robotics, and geo-intelligence solutions. In short, it makes tools that help governments and companies see Earth, move data, and operate in orbit. It looks relevant now as defence priorities, climate monitoring, and broadband constellations keep drawing capital, and Canada wants domestic capability in strategic technology.

Over the last year, the news flow proved that even great themes come with sharp edges. In September 2025, EchoStar terminated a major low-Earth-orbit satellite contract, and MDA pointed to a sudden shift in EchoStar’s strategy tied to spectrum discussions and a planned spectrum sale. That kind of surprise can hit sentiment fast as investors treat backlog like a safety blanket. It also forces management to show that demand is broader than one marquee customer.

The story improved soon after. In December 2025, the Canadian Space Agency awarded MDA an initial contract tied to a RADARSAT Constellation Mission replenishment satellite, and the company said the full mission contract is expected to be awarded in 2026, subject to approvals. That reinforces MDA’s role in Canada’s space industrial base. It also adds a government-linked work stream that can run for years, which helps smooth out private-sector ups and downs.

More to come

MDA also pushed to deepen its “build more in-house” advantage. It completed the acquisition of SatixFy in July 2025, bringing satellite communications chip technology into the company to strengthen its end-to-end offering for digital constellations. Integration can get messy, but vertical capability can reduce supplier bottlenecks and support differentiated products as customers push for more software-defined satellites and higher throughput.

Recent earnings show why the market keeps giving it the benefit of the doubt. In the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, it reported revenue of $409.8 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $82.8 million, ending the quarter with $4.4 billion of backlog. That scale supports profitability as production ramps, and the backlog provides visibility that many industrial businesses would love to have.

Looking into 2026, investors should focus on execution against clear targets. Management guided to a 2025 adjusted EBITDA of $305 million to $320 million, with margins around 19% to 20%, which sets a practical benchmark for operating discipline. If it keeps converting backlog without cost overruns, the story shifts from “space hype” to repeatable industrial growth. If conversion stumbles, the stock can re-rate quickly because large programs slip and the market hates surprises.

Foolish takeaway

Could it be a buy for others? It could, if you want TFSA protection that comes from demand that does not rely on shoppers feeling flush, and from contracts that can run for years. It could also be the wrong fit if you need a smooth ride, because one delayed launch or one cancelled program can whipsaw sentiment. For 2026, the outlook comes down to backlog replenishment and consistent margins as projects move from promise to production. If it nails both, you may not miss the high yield at all.