If you’re looking for a quality stock to hold forever in your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), you should try to pick a stock that doesn’t need constant monitoring. Ideally, it should have a durable business model, a long growth runway, strong cash generation, and enough competitive strength to keep compounding through different market cycles.
That is why Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD) looks like one of the best long-term TFSA investments available to me today. It may not offer the biggest dividend yield on the TSX, but its scale, consistency, and expansion outlook make it a stock I would be comfortable holding for years. Let me explain why.
Source: Getty Images
A convenience-store compounder
Simply put, Alimentation Couche-Tard is one of the world’s largest convenience store and mobility retailers. The company operates more than 17,200 stores across 27 countries and territories under banners like Circle K, Couche-Tard, GetGo, and Ingo.
At the time of writing, ATD stock traded at $90.40 per share, giving the company a market cap of about $83 billion. Over the last year, its share price has climbed 34%, including a 16% gain in the last month. It also offers a 1% dividend yield, with quarterly payouts.
That yield may look small, but Couche-Tard’s real appeal is its ability to keep expanding while generating reliable earnings from everyday consumer demand. Its stores sell fuel, food, beverages, and convenience items that customers keep buying in different economic environments.
Its latest results show momentum
Couche-Tard’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended in April) results showed why its business remains so resilient. The company reported net earnings attributable to shareholders of US$863 million, up sharply from US$439 million a year ago. For the quarter, its adjusted net earnings also reached US$667 million, reflecting 51.2% year-over-year (YoY) growth.
Similarly, the company’s merchandise and service revenue also climbed by 7.7% YoY, while same-store merchandise revenue rose 3.4% in the United States and 1.1% in Europe and other regions. Although it slipped 0.9% in Canada, Couche-Tard’s consolidated same-store merchandise revenue still increased 2.2%.
Meanwhile, the company’s margins continue to hold up well. In the latest quarter, its merchandise and service gross margin improved slightly in the United States to 34.4%. That gain showed its ability to manage pricing, product mix, and costs effectively.
Why it belongs in a TFSA
In addition to the ongoing strength in its financials, Couche-Tard keeps investing in long-term growth prospects. In its fiscal year 2026, it opened 103 new-to-industry stores and relocated or reconstructed 27 more. Another 34 stores were under construction at year-end, giving the company more room to expand organically.
Its acquisition strategy also remains important. Roughly two years after buying European retail assets from TotalEnergies, Couche-Tard has already reached an annual synergy run rate of US$71.4 million. The firm now expects that figure to rise to US$140.5 million in fiscal 2027 and US$199.1 million in fiscal 2029.
For TFSA investors, that continued expansion strategy could be powerful. While its dividend is small today, the tax-free account lets investors compound both capital gains and payouts without giving up a portion to taxes.
