Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) season loves drama, but your best returns usually come from boring. A buy-and-never-sell dividend stock can turn an RRSP into a steady compounding machine, because you reinvest distributions, defer taxes, and let time smooth out headlines. You still need a business that can earn through recessions, fund growth, and protect its payout when rates and credit conditions tighten.
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CM
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSX:CM) fits the long-hold brief as it earns money from everyday banking, wealth management, and capital markets, and it keeps a foothold in Canada. Over the last year, it rode trading and investment banking activity and it pushed client growth. It also flagged its next reporting milestone, and it will release fiscal 2026 first-quarter results on Feb. 26, 2026, which keeps the market focused on credit quality and momentum.
The latest earnings show why the dividend story still looks sturdy. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, CM delivered adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.21 and reported diluted EPS of $2.20. It also generated revenue of $3.2 billion in Canadian Personal and Business Banking, which highlights how much the core franchise drives results. For the full fiscal 2025 year, it reported diluted EPS of $8.57 and adjusted diluted EPS of $8.61.
CM also backed the numbers with a bigger cheque. It lifted its quarterly common share dividend to $1.07 for the quarter ending Jan. 31, 2026. That raises the signals confidence, but it does not erase risk. CM took a provision for credit losses of $503 million in the quarter, which reminds investors that a soft economy can bite even when revenue grows. Even so, while trading at just 15 times earnings and a 3.3% dividend yield, it’s a strong long-term option.
BEP.UN
Brookfield Renewable Partners (TSX:BEP.UN) plays a different game, and it can complement a bank in an RRSP. It owns and operates a global mix of hydro, wind, solar, and storage assets, and it also holds sustainable solutions exposure, including nuclear services through Westinghouse. Over the last year, it leaned into surging power demand tied to electrification and data centres, and it kept signing long-term agreements with large customers.
BEP.UN also sweetened the income case with growth. It reported funds from operations of US$1.3 billion, or US$2.01 per unit, for 2025, up 10% per unit year over year. In the fourth quarter, it posted funds from operations (FFO) of US$346 million, or US$0.51 per unit.
Management also announced an over 5% distribution increase, setting the next quarterly distribution at US$0.392 per unit, bringing the annual distribution to $2.12 per unit and a 5% yield at writing. That raise looks attractive beside cash rates, but BEP.UN still needs steady execution. It carries meaningful borrowings and it faces higher interest expense when refinancing gets pricey.
Bottom line
These two dividend stocks can suit a buy-and-never-sell mindset, but neither one offers a free lunch. CM needs credit to behave and earnings to hold up when the economy cools. BEP.UN needs stable generation, smart financing, and disciplined growth in a capital-hungry sector. Still, here’s what $7,000 could bring in from each dividend stock.
| COMPANY | RECENT PRICE | NUMBER OF SHARES | ANNUAL DIVIDEND | ANNUAL TOTAL PAYOUT | FREQUENCY | TOTAL INVESTMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CM | $129.43 | 54 | $4.28 | $231.12 | Quarterly | $6,989.22 |
| BEP.UN | $42.90 | 163 | $2.12 | $345.56 | Quarterly | $6,992.70 |
If you want an RRSP duo, start small, reinvest the distributions, and judge it by cash flow progress over several quarters, not by a noisy week on the TSX.
