Turning $100,000 into $1 million is a struggle but achievable through compound growth. The selection can include just two TSX stocks – a dividend stock for income compounding and a high-growth industry disruptor for superior capital gains.
Toronto Dominion Bank (TSX: TD) and Shopify (TSX: SHOP) are top-of-mind options for this approach. The Big Bank’s lengthy dividend track record is the fuel for reinvestment, while the global commerce champion delivers the potential for enormous capital growth.
The assumption is that you allocate $50,000 to each and allow the stocks to take different paths toward the same destination. A conservative timeline to hit the target is 20 to 25 years.
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The foundation
Toronto Dominion Bank is the foundation of the dual-engine strategy. The $216.4 billion bank has an impressive 167-year dividend track record. Despite slower growth, the consistent reinvestment of dividends and yield increases in the coming years will eventually dwarf the $50,000 investment.
Canada’s second-largest financial institution is currently in recovery mode following its anti-money laundering (AML) settlement with U.S. regulators in October 2024. TD maintained its dividend after paying a hefty US$3 billion fine and a US$434 billion asset cap during the remediation phase, which is expected to end in 2027.
TD’s trailing one-year price return of plus-59.9% indicates a strong recovery amid U.S. growth restrictions. At $130.25 per share, the dividend yield is 3.3%. In Q1 fiscal 2026 (three months ending January 31, 2026), net income climbed nearly 45% to $4 billion compared with Q1 fiscal 2025.
Management spent most of fiscal 2025 cleaning the balance sheet while complying with U.S. regulators. Notably, the U.S. Banking segment did not lose business momentum in the first quarter, posting a 204% year-over-year increase in net income to US$342 million.
TD remains a sound option for long-term investors. The power of reinvesting works best when dividends are safe and stable.
The capital growth driver
Shopify, TSX’s tech superstar, has delivered a staggering plus-5,065% total return in 10 years, representing a 48.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Note that $50,000 could grow to $500,000 in 10 years if the CAGR is 25.9%. As of this writing, SHOP trades at $175.78 per share.
Expect the $236.8 billion commerce company to scale further. Its CEO, Harley Finkelstein, said, “2025 was Shopify at full throttle – driving compounding growth, while laying the rails for the new era of AI commerce.” Profitability was once a major issue with SHOP.
In 2025, revenue and operating income increased 30% and 36% year-over-year to US$11.6 billion and US$1.5 billion, respectively. Free cash flow (FCF) jumped 25.7% to US$2 billion from a year ago. The revenue growth was the fastest since the 2021 pandemic boom.
The technology sector is under pressure lately, but the business outlook remains positive. According to Finkelstein, 2026 will be the year of the builders, and Shopify will power them, from first sale to full scale. Agentic Commerce is the growth catalyst.
Solid choices
TD and SHOP are solid choices in the journey to one million. The former is a steady engine, while the latter is the growth accelerator. It takes time to achieve the objective, but financial freedom awaits a patient and disciplined investor.
