One of the biggest mistakes investors make is thinking that buying and holding stocks for the long term is only about finding great companies.
Finding high-quality companies is obviously not just important; it’s essential. These are the stocks that can grow faster than the broader market, protect your capital better during periods of heightened volatility, and most importantly, give you the confidence to hold them through any economic environment.
However, as important as business quality is, the valuation you pay also matters far more than many investors realize.
High-quality stocks almost never trade cheaply. In fact, they usually trade at a premium because of their growth potential and reliability. That’s why when these stocks do periodically fall out of favour and trade below their fair value, a real opportunity is created.
If you truly believe in a company’s long-term potential, it should be easier to buy when the stock is under pressure, not harder. It’s the same business with the same long-term outlook, just available at a more attractive price. Those are often the moments that set up the best long-term returns.
That’s exactly why two of the stocks I loaded up on in 2025 weren’t just high-quality businesses capable of creating long-term wealth; they were high-quality companies trading well below their fair value.
So, with that in mind, here’s why goeasy (TSX: GSY) and Aritzia (TSX: ATZ) were two of my biggest purchases in 2025 and why I’m confident they’re ideal for long-term wealth.
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Why I bought Aritzia when it was cheap
There’s no question that Aritzia is one of the best growth stocks Canadian investors can buy and hold for the long term. It has built a premium brand, and has an ultra-loyal customer base, strong pricing power, and a proven ability to grow both revenue and earnings over time.
In fact, over just the last five years, its revenue has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.8%.
Yet despite that rapid growth, consistent execution, and long-term potential, Aritzia’s stock trades cheaply from time to time, as it did in early 2025 when shares were trading below $50.
At the time, higher inflation was creating headwinds for discretionary retail stocks, which caused Aritzia’s share price to get hammered along with much of the sector.
However, that was a short-term macro issue, not a business-specific problem. And Aritzia has proven time and again that its loyal customer base and products that consistently resonate with consumers shouldn’t be underestimated.
So, less than a year later, with Aritzia continuing to grow and expand its operations and profitability, and with the stock now more than double where it was trading last year, it’s a reminder that high-quality stocks should be owned for the long haul, but also bought as cheaply as possible when the opportunity presents itself.
The market temporarily discounting a stock isn’t automatically an indictment of the business. In fact, it’s often how the best opportunities to build long-term wealth are created.
Why goeasy is one of the best stocks to buy now for long-term wealth
goeasy was the other stock I loaded up on in 2025, and for similar reasons. It has been one of the most consistent growth stocks on the TSX for years, manages its risk well, and generates significant profit margins.
However, when economic uncertainty peaked last year and interest rates had yet to start declining meaningfully, the market was nervous about goeasy and the stock was trading ultra-cheaply.
And the good news for investors is that once again, goeasy is trading at a significant discount, creating a massive long-term opportunity.
Not only does goeasy trade at just 6.4 times forward earnings, which is not just significantly lower than its five-year average forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 10.2 times, but it’s also even cheaper than it traded last year when its forward P/E ratio fell as low as 7.5 times.
In fact, since it sold off a few months ago, this is as cheap as goeasy has traded since the pandemic.
Furthermore, with the stock trading at bargain basement prices and after goeasy’s dividend has increased by over 120% in the last five years, it offers investors a current yield of more than 4.6% today.
So, if you’re looking for high-quality stocks to help build long-term wealth, goeasy is one of the best to buy, and it’s currently trading unbelievably cheaply.
