A Year Later: 3 TSX Stocks That Proved the Doubters Wrong

Today, we’ll look at these three rebounding names.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

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. 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 April 17, 9:15 pm EDT

A year can change the whole story. Stocks that looked too risky, too expensive, or simply too messy 12 months ago can surprise investors when management executes, margins improve, or the market finally notices what was hiding in plain sight. That’s exactly why we’re looking at these three rebounding names today.

man gives stopping gesture — Source: Getty Images

BBD

Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) looks nothing like the old turnaround headache many investors gave up on. It’s now a focused business jet maker, and over the last year, it has continued to prove that its recovery is not just a good headline. In February, it reported fourth-quarter revenue of US$3.69 billion, up nearly 19% year over year, delivered 64 aircraft in the quarter, and finished 2025 with free cash flow of US$1.07 billion. Full-year revenue reached US$8.7 billion, while backlog climbed to US$17.5 billion. Management now expects 2026 revenue above US$10 billion and more than 157 jet deliveries.

That helps explain why Bombardier stock has ripped higher. Even after the run, Bombardier stock still looks more like a maturing industrial story than a hype trade. The data shows a market cap of around $24.2 billion and a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 19 at writing. That’s not dirt cheap, but not outrageous either. The catch is obvious: demand for private jets can cool fast in a weaker economy, and trade noise with the United States has not fully disappeared. Still, one year later, this is a very different beast.

LSPD

Lightspeed Commerce (TSX:LSPD) felt like the poster child for investors who got burned on growth stocks for a while there. But the last year brought something the market had been begging for: discipline. In its fiscal third quarter of 2026, Lightspeed stock posted revenue of US$312.3 million, up 11% year over year, with gross profit up 15% and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of US$20.2 million. Operating cash flow came in at US$28.9 million, and the company ended the quarter with US$479 million in cash.

What makes Lightspeed stock relevant now is that it is no longer selling pure hope. Management raised its fiscal 2026 outlook and now expects revenue of roughly US$1.216 billion to US$1.22 billion and adjusted EBITDA of about US$72 million. It’s also pushing harder into payments, hospitality in Europe, and retail in North America, while adding artificial intelligence (AI) features to the platform. Valuation helps the case too, with an enterprise value-to-revenue multiple of about 0.66. The risk is that this is still not a steady blue-chip. Growth needs to hold up, and competition in commerce software is fierce. But the doubters have had less to work with lately.

ATRL

AtkinsRéalis (TSX:ATRL) may be the quietest winner of the bunch, but it has been just as convincing. The company, formerly known as SNC-Lavalin, now looks more like a global engineering and nuclear growth story than a restructuring case. In fourth-quarter 2025 results, services revenue climbed 16.6% to $2.9 billion, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes (EBIT) for services rose 18.9% to $288.7 million, and adjusted net income from PS&PM jumped to $160.9 million. For the full year, services revenue reached $10.8 billion, and the backlog hit a record $21.2 billion.

That backlog is the big clue. Demand across engineering, infrastructure, and especially nuclear has been strong, and management expects nuclear revenue of about $2.5 billion in 2026. The company also benefited from stronger cash flow and acquisitions that expanded its reach in the United States and Australia. Even after the stock’s climb, the numbers still look reasonable beside the growth. The shares trade around $91, while outside market data pegs the market cap near $15 billion. The main risk is execution. Big project businesses always carry margin and cost-overrun headaches. Even so, AtkinsRéalis has spent the last year proving it deserves more credit than the market once gave it.

Bottom line

A year later, these three TSX stocks all tell the same basic lesson: sometimes the market gets too stuck on the old story. Bombardier stock turned a comeback into hard cash flow. Lightspeed stock turned a messy growth narrative into a more disciplined one. AtkinsRéalis turned a long repair job into a record backlog story. While not risk-free, all three have done something that matters even more. They made the doubters work a lot harder.