With many of the top TSX stocks trading close to their 52-week highs, finding quality growth names at attractive valuations has become difficult. However, not every growth stock is trading near its high. Some have seen their share prices retreat despite continuing to deliver solid operational performance, creating an appealing opportunity for long-term investors.
One stock that stands out is Stantec (TSX:STN), a global leader in engineering, architecture, and environmental consulting services. Despite its strong fundamentals, Stantec’s shares have fallen more than 39% from their high and are now trading near the 52-week low. The sharp decline was largely driven by valuation concerns following the stock’s impressive rally, as well as investor worries that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) would disrupt its business.
While these concerns have weighed on market sentiment, Stantec’s underlying business remains on a solid footing. The company continues to execute well, reflected in its solid financial performance. At the same time, the recent pullback has eased valuation concerns, making the stock far more attractive.
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Stantec begins 2026 on strong footing
Stantec started 2026 with a strong first quarter, reporting net revenue of $1.7 billion, up 9.1% year over year. The growth reflected sustained infrastructure spending, resilient private-sector investment, and benefits from recent acquisitions. The results indicate that Stantec is well-positioned to benefit from long-term investment trends across water, transportation, and critical infrastructure.
Stantec is witnessing steady demand across several end markets, which augurs well for growth. Public infrastructure investment and private capital spending continued to support growth, particularly in water and transportation projects. Structural themes such as climate resilience, resource security, and the global energy transition continue to support project activity, providing a multi-year growth runway for the company.
Further, Stantec is seeing expanding opportunities in high-value markets, including smart cities and critical facilities such as hospitals, data centers, and other essential buildings.
Supporting Stantec’s investment case is its growing backlog, which provides viability for future growth. As of March 31, Stantec’s contract backlog reached $9 billion, increasing by more than $1 billion from a year earlier and representing approximately 13 months of revenue visibility.
Its backlog growth was supported by both acquisitions and organic expansion. At the same time, Stantec’s profitability also improved. Adjusted net income increased 14.6%, while adjusted earnings per share rose 14.7%.
Stantec’s strong growth to continue
Stantec appears well-positioned to extend its growth trajectory as demand remains robust across several long-term infrastructure and environmental themes. Aging infrastructure, rapid urbanization, energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and resource security continue to create a favourable backdrop for the company.
For 2026, Stantec expects net revenue to increase 8.5% to 11.5%, supported by mid- to high-single-digit organic growth across its business. Management expects growth in the U.S. and Canada to accelerate, driven by broad-based infrastructure spending, public sector investment, and sustained demand in its Energy & Resources segment. Meanwhile, its Global operations are projected to deliver healthy growth, led by strong performance in the Water and Energy & Resources businesses.
Stantec’s bottom line is projected to increase by 15% to 18% in 2026, reflecting benefits from higher revenue, strong project execution, disciplined cost management, and ongoing operational efficiency improvements.
The bottom line
Although Stantec’s share price has pulled back sharply, the company’s underlying fundamentals remain solid. A growing backlog, double-digit earnings growth, and exposure to long-term infrastructure and environmental investment trends indicate that the recent weakness in its share price is an opportunity to buy Stantec stock aggressively.
