Gordon Reid, President & CEO , Goodreid Investment Counsel
Focus: U.S. equities
Top Picks: Apple, Celanese, Visa
MARKET OUTLOOK:
If market action has taught us anything in the first five months of 2026, it’s that company fundamentals carry more weight than geopolitics, Fed policy on interest rates and oil prices.
Corporate profits are surging and profit margins are at record levels. The prospect of lower interest rates has been flipped on its head with prediction markets now heavily skewed towards the next monetary moves being hawkish.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is dominating the narrative and hundreds of billions of investment dollars have been committed to building out data centres, which foreshadows trillions of dollars of economic activity.
Positioning in this environment is difficult because the short-term likelihood is that a concentrated portfolio in hyper scalers and chip companies will dominate. That kind of concentration is risky at best and likely better described as foolhardy.
Why? Because just as the internet wave has led to huge gains, there were also severe and damaging corrections along the way (i.e. the internet bubble).
Diversification allows most investors to financially survive corrections and bear markets, which are as natural as the seasons.
Do we at Goodreid believe that AI will be a dominate and profitable theme? Absolutely. But there will be periods when other sectors will prevail, and having diversified investments allow people to survive to “invest another day”.
- Market-moving news, fast: Get the BNN Bloomberg App now
- Sign up for the Market Call Top Picks newsletter at bnnbloomberg.ca/subscribe
TOP PICKS:
Apple Inc. (AAPL NASDAQ)
Apple’s relevance in the AI race is being questioned in some quarters. If one goes to school on Apple’s history, however, a pattern of allowing others to do the early work, make the mistakes and spend big money, followed by Apple stepping in to take technologies to new heights, is evident. Apple has the eco system, controls the app world, owns the consumer and has very deep pockets. Stay tuned.
Celanese (CE NYSE)
Celanese is a global producer of high-performance engineered polymers and acetyl products, which are used in nearly all industries. Industry dynamics have suffered due to Chinese subsidized capacity and an inventory bubble, leading to a low cycle pricing environment. The industry appears to have bottomed according to Celanese management.
Visa (V NYSE)
This fintech juggernaut demonstrates a consistency that is enviable. At just over 24 times 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates the premium to the market is narrow when you consider a mid teens percentage growth rate of earnings and a very high score for predictability of earnings. Growth is most robust in Latin America and Europe and lags in Asia, which is a prime opportunity for this payment network.
| DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL NYSE | Y | N | Y |
| CE NYSE | N | Y | Y |
| V NYSE | Y | N | Y |
PAST PICKS: MAY 13, 2025
Elevance Health (ELV NYSE)
Then: US$375.40
Now: US$392.07
Return: 4%
Total Return: 6%
Leonardo DRS (DRS NASDAQ)
Then: US$40.64
Now: US$43.71
Return: 8%
Total Return: 9%
JPMorgan (JPM NYSE)
Then: US$263.01
Now: US$302.01
Return: 15%
Total Return: 17%
Total Return Average: 11%
| DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELV NYSE | Y | N | Y |
| DRS NASD | N | Y | Y |
| JPM NYSE | Y | N | Y |
