Canadian energy stocks, artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, and any other growth stocks have already reached their peak valuations. It might get you thinking, or rather overthinking, if you should buy these stocks at their peak. Companies that are already growing can give you immediate returns, but for risk-averse overthinkers, they will always be risky investments. If you have $3,000 and want to invest in high-potential growth stocks without overthinking, be ready to buy and forget for at least five years.
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2 high-potential growth stocks worth buying without overthinking it
The potential growth comes from companies investing in the future whose growth cycle has not yet begun or is in early stages. Such companies also come with risks of failure in a crisis. Nevertheless, the rewards are worth the risk as they trade at cheap valuations.
The potential growth of Ballard Power
Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLDP) stock jumped 75% after releasing its 2025 earnings on March 10. And if you think the stock has already rallied, look at its growth potential. Ballard Power Systems has been working on hydrogen fuel cell technology for decades. After several trials and errors, the technology became workable and is now heading towards being commercially feasible.
One major reason hydrogen cars have not yet hit the roads is the high cost of ownership and the refueling infrastructure. Ballard has been working with several European and North American companies to run commercial vehicles on hydrogen. Buses and rail have been the revenue generators so far.
Even with orders in the pipeline, project feasibility was not assured. Ballard has reduced these instances over the years and reported its first-ever gross margin in 2025.
The company has even hired professional management — a new CEO and COO — and tasked them to improve fundamentals and turn the company’s cash flows positive by 2027. This fundamental reset could give some earnings and sales to compare prices with. Right now, the best valuation for Ballard is price-to-book value, which is at 1.7 times
If hydrogen fuel adoption picks up, especially in an energy crisis, Ballard stock could give triple-digit growth in five years. It also carries a risk of a slow uptick in technology, as was the case with the Internet of Things. Even when technology is good and commercials are attractive, widespread adoption is not guaranteed, which brings risk and prevents tech companies from taking on debt.
Topicus.com stock
Topicus.com (TSXV: TOI) stock lost 53% of its value when the parent company’s founder resigned. Moreover, fears of AI replacing software maintenance jobs left almost all enterprise software companies in the red. Many software companies joined hands with AI-first companies, exploring ways to fit AI. Such companies are struggling to justify the AI cost. The other type is AI-first companies, like Claude and OpenAI. They are built on AI, and their key product is AI. They are offering agentic AI services to enhance human productivity.
Topicus.com acquires software companies that work on mission-critical applications and thrive on the maintenance cash flow. It is observing how AI is changing the landscape and is open to exploring opportunities where there are returns. While the AI risk exists, the market seems to have discounted the stock too much.
Topicus.com reported a 53% decrease in net income in 2025 because it used the equity method of accounting for the stake it bought in publicly traded Asseco Poland. In this method, Topicus.com updated the value of its share holdings in Asseco every quarter. However, this method doesn’t align with Topicus.com’s business model, which is more focused on free cash flow.
The 2026 earnings could see a remarkable recovery as it ends the equity method of accounting and continues to realize the cash flows from Asseco. The steep decline in share price has made the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 22.5 times attractive. It is the lowest in two years. When earnings per share are corrected in 2026, the stock price could surge to adjust to the P/E multiple.
