Looking for the next Shopify (TSX: SHOP) can make perfectly good investments seem rather dull. A company growing steadily, collecting cash, and buying back shares doesn’t generate quite the same excitement as a business that might transform an entire industry. Yet those quieter companies can still help investors build serious wealth.
The difference is how you get there. Turning $10,000 into $1 million without adding money requires a hundredfold return. Starting with $10,000 and continuing to invest gives you another route. You don’t need every stock to become a once-in-a-generation winner.
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Millionaire math
Suppose you invest $10,000 initially and add $6,000 at the end of each year for 30 years. At a 10% annualized total return, the portfolio would reach approximately $1.2 million. Your contributions would total $190,000.
| ASSUMED ANNUAL RETURN | STARTING INVESTMENT | ANNUAL ADDITION | VALUE AFTER 30 YEARS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8% | $10,000 | $6,000 | $780,326 |
| 10% | $10,000 | $6,000 | $1,161,458 |
| 12% | $10,000 | $6,000 | $1,747,595 |
These are illustrations, not forecasts. They assume reinvested distributions and returns after fees, before applicable taxes, without adjusting for inflation. The range also shows why choosing good businesses matters. A few percentage points make a substantial difference over decades.
That’s the framework I’d use when looking at Canadian growth stocks. One company that could contribute to such a portfolio is CGI (TSX: GIB.A).
A different kind of technology stock
CGI provides technology and business consulting, managed IT services, and software solutions. Its work includes helping clients modernize systems, manage data, improve cybersecurity, and use artificial intelligence. These aren’t always glamorous projects, but businesses and governments still need them completed properly.
That creates an investment case based on execution rather than a breakout consumer product. CGI doesn’t need to become an online-shopping giant. It needs to win useful work, retain clients, control costs, and turn that work into cash.
Into earnings
Third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue increased 2.5% to $4.2 billion. Adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) rose 9% to $2.29, while adjusted net earnings increased just 1.7%. Fewer shares helped lift per-share results. Investors shouldn’t mistake that for rapid business growth.
Buybacks can still create value when shares are purchased at sensible prices. Each remaining share represents a larger ownership interest. Combined with growing profits, this can support compounding without requiring spectacular revenue increases.
CGI ended the quarter with a $31.8 billion backlog, equivalent to approximately 1.9 times annual revenue. That provides visibility, although contracted work still needs to be delivered profitably. Management sees opportunities as clients prepare their data and systems for broader AI adoption.
Room for consideration
At writing, CGI stock traded around 12.7 times trailing earnings. That’s a valuation I’d investigate for a profitable technology business, rather than one requiring everything to go perfectly.
Still, slow revenue growth is a real concern. Clients can delay projects, governments can tighten budgets, and AI could pressure some traditional IT services even while creating new opportunities. Buybacks can’t replace healthy demand indefinitely.
I’d consider CGI stock as one holding within a diversified portfolio and keep watching contract wins, cash generation, and per-share earnings. Investors learning how to build a stock portfolio don’t need to put their entire future behind one promising company.
Bottom line
CGI stock could help build a million-dollar portfolio without becoming the next Shopify stock. The appeal is profitable work, sensible capital allocation, and a reasonable starting valuation. Regular contributions and patience would do plenty of the work, too. That may be less exciting than finding the next superstar, but it’s a plan you can actually start.
