Pet Valu cut its earnings forecast after reporting weaker profit and flat same-store sales in the first quarter, as persistent consumer weakness continues to pressure spending trends. Investors are also watching earnings from First Majestic Silver, Power Corporation of Canada and Element Fleet Management as markets remain volatile.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Grant White, portfolio manager and investment advisor at Endeavour Wealth Management, about why he continues to favour companies with strong balance sheets, recurring cash flow and durable business models in an uncertain market environment.
Key Takeaways
- Pet Valu lowered its outlook after reporting flat same-store sales and weaker profitability, though recurring pet spending trends remain resilient.
- Investors are increasingly prioritizing companies with strong balance sheets, recurring cash flow and operational discipline as volatility rises.
- First Majestic Silver remains a speculative way to gain exposure to rising silver demand tied to electrification and safe-haven buying.
- Power Corporation of Canada continues to appeal for its dividend yield, discounted valuation and stable financial businesses.
- Element Fleet Management is benefiting from long-term demand for fleet optimization, data analytics and electrification infrastructure.
Read the full transcript below:
LINDSAY: Anyone with a pet is likely familiar with Pet Valu. The company reported first-quarter earnings this morning. Profit came in lower than expected, comparable sales were flat and the company cut its sales forecast because of consumer weakness. Let’s get more now from Grant White, portfolio manager and investment advisor at Endeavour Wealth Management. He joins us now. It’s great to have you. Thanks so much.
GRANT: Good to see you, Lindsay. Thanks so much for having me.
LINDSAY: We’ll start with Pet Valu then. What do you make of the first-quarter results?
GRANT: It’s a bit of a disappointing result. It’s somewhat mixed, and I think it’s getting mixed up with the CPI results as well. I don’t take too much into the market action today on this, but it’s obviously a bit disappointing. We wanted to see a little bit more out of Pet Valu.
Having said that, I think the volatility we’re seeing in the markets is actually a really good thing because we’re starting to see fundamentals rise to the top, and I think Pet Valu could be a benefactor of that. It’s a pretty solid company and, despite a slight miss today, I think the company is on solid footing going forward. There’s still a lot to like about this business.
LINDSAY: Is that kind of the story for all of these companies before we get to First Majestic Silver — that they are going to get mixed up with CPI results today? Do we need to keep that in mind as we read these earnings reports?
GRANT: Absolutely. I think that’s a good rule of thumb going forward when you’re looking at short-term results because CPI is really more of the story today than anything else.
Fundamentals are really important right now. You want to look at balance sheets, and you want to be careful about the pricing you’re seeing. When you look at a company like Pet Valu, we’re seeing reasonable pricing, and the pricing is getting a little bit better today.
I also really like Pet Valu because it’s a resilient business. Sometimes it gets treated like a traditional retail business, but what we see is the resilience of people continuing to shop for their pets no matter what’s going on. You’re not going to see the same cyclicality in this business as you would in a lot of other retailers.
LINDSAY: Let’s move on to First Majestic Silver. First-quarter revenue jumped on higher metal prices but trailed the high end of analyst estimates. You still think this is a hold?
GRANT: I think it’s a hold slash speculative buy. It really depends on what you think silver is going to do.
One thing I like about First Majestic is that it’s a really pure silver play, and that’s rare to find. Often you’re getting silver exposure along with a whole bunch of other things that can be unpredictable.
There are a couple of things to like here. Demand is higher than ever for silver, whether it’s for solar panels, EVs or other industrial uses. On the other side, we’re also seeing increased demand for safe-haven assets. You’ve got this two-edged sword working in favour of First Majestic.
If you like that story and theme going forward, First Majestic is still a really good option. I’m a speculative buy on it because I personally don’t like to play those kinds of games with investors’ money, but if you really like the silver story going forward, I think it’s a good option.
LINDSAY: Power Corporation of Canada is another company we’re watching today. It’s reporting after the bell. What are your expectations? You say it’s a buy at the moment, but maybe we’ll have to wait and see what the earnings report looks like.
GRANT: I think it’s a buy, and if the price gets worse, I think it’s even more of a buy.
The reason I like this company is because it’s so boring, and I mean that in the best way possible to all my friends at Power Corp and its companies. It’s a great business.
You’ve got roughly a four to four-and-a-half per cent dividend yield and a share buyback yield of around one to two per cent. When you add that together, you’re looking at six to seven per cent in total yield before any capital appreciation.
The balance sheets are really strong, and from a pricing perspective, we’re still trading below historical valuations. If pricing gets better today, I think you want to buy even more of it.
There’s still that holding company discount with Power Corp — if you added up all the parts, they’re worth more than the holding company itself. That’s a benefit, but you don’t necessarily need that discount to disappear for this to be a good opportunity.
LINDSAY: Another company we’re watching is Element Fleet Management, which delivered a record quarter. You say this one’s a buy as well.
GRANT: Element is one of those sleepy companies that people don’t really think about, but this actually gets into the real AI story and the real data-management story.
What they do is lease vehicles like cars and trucks to companies with large fleets, but they also build the infrastructure around that. In the case of EVs, they’ll help build electrification infrastructure as well. There are a lot of revenue streams available to them.
What I really like is that they’re an intelligent company that’s selling data management back to the businesses leasing vehicles from them and helping them operate more efficiently. Better routes mean lower mileage, better fuel economy and better energy use in the case of EVs.
That can save millions of dollars for the companies using those fleets. That’s a huge differentiator. They’re using AI to add operational value not only to their own business but also to the businesses they serve. I really like that moat, and from a pricing perspective, the stock looks strong right now.
LINDSAY: Let’s zoom out to the bigger picture and look at the markets overall. We’ve seen a lot of volatility over the last couple of months. You say you think this volatility is relatively healthy for investors. Why is that?
GRANT: I think it’s great. I had a mentor who used to tell me that when the wind blows, turkeys fly, and that’s what we’ve seen over the last few years.
What we’re getting back to now is a market where good fundamentals have to rise to the top. Investors are starting to realize there’s a little bit of pain and fear out there, and that’s okay because it creates opportunities.
Some of the companies we’ve talked about today, like Power Corp and Element Fleet, are really great businesses. Volatility in names like that is a good thing because you’re able to scoop up better opportunities. You just have to be ready to act.
It’s reminding investors what actually carries value over the long term. Overall, I think it’s healthy, and we’re optimistic over the next year.
LINDSAY: Given that, there are probably some areas you’re looking to avoid because of all this volatility. What are you staying away from right now?
GRANT: I think you want to stay away from things people are just buying for momentum. Momentum has worked for the last couple of years, but it can be very dangerous.
When you look at areas like AI in particular, you really want to be careful about what you’re buying and the price you’re paying for it.
You look at a company like Element Fleet — that’s a company actually using AI to benefit both its customers and its own business. Canadian Tire is another example I like in that space. These aren’t the flashy AI names, but they are companies using AI in functional ways.
I think you want to avoid the companies that are highly priced because everyone expects perfection from them. Companies like Alphabet or Amazon are obviously great businesses, but at this point they’re priced for perfection.
LINDSAY: On the flip side, any must-owns right now?
GRANT: I go back to some of the companies we talked about today. Power Corp is one of those businesses you could own forever.
For me, must-owns are companies with good fundamentals, strong balance sheets, strong free cash flow and attractive pricing. If you focus on those qualities across your portfolio today, I think you’re going to have a really strong next couple of years.
If you ignore those things, you may still see stocks go higher, but I think you’re going to miss out on some really good opportunities. This is the kind of market where you want to be ready to take advantage when pricing moves in your favour.
LINDSAY: We’ll leave it there. Grant White, portfolio manager and investment advisor at Endeavour Wealth Management. Great to have you. Thanks so much.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the May 12, 2026 interview with Grant White are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
