Barry Schwartz, President & CIO, Baskin Wealth Management
Focus: North American large caps
Top Picks: Costco, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Berkshire Hathaway
MARKET OUTLOOK:
Earnings are the only narrative we pay attention to as long-term investors, and we are very pleased with our portfolio holdings results so far for the second quarter (Q2).
We continue to see many excellent values in our portfolio, given accelerating earnings growth with no corresponding stock price recovery. Over the past few years, this has been a one decision market, own the Nasdaq.
We think returns will be more challenging going forward given that the market winners’ valuation reflects a lot of good news in the future.
We are sticking with companies that can grow their earnings by at double digits over the next five years and we see lots of opportunities in dislocated high-quality North American equities.
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TOP PICKS:
Costco (COST NASD)
Costco continues to have strong comp growth partly from digital initiatives and is gaining market share especially in gas station amidst high fuel prices. We believe that Costco can grow its earnings per share at double digits for many years to come.
Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD TSX)
Alimentation Couche-Tard benefitted from fuel price volatility this quarter from sophisticated fuel trading but is also seeing results from internal initiatives to add loyalty to its stores. It recently announced its largest ever deal, acquiring over 13,000 convenience stores in Poland and Romania.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B NYSE)
After a slow start, we believe Berkshire CEO, Greg Abel is fast at work trying to allocate the hundreds of billions of cash. We are pleased to see that Berkshire stepped up its share buyback program as well as the company reported much better results for its operating businesses.
| DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
|---|---|---|---|
| COST NASD | Y | Y | Y |
| ATD TSX | Y | Y | Y |
| BRK.B NYSE | Y | Y | Y |
PAST PICKS: FEB. 2, 2026
Microsoft (MSFT NASD)
Then: US$423.37
Now: US$480.51
Return: 13%
Total Return: 14%
MSCI (MSCI NYSE)
Then: US$624.75
Now: US$565.96
Return: -9%
Total Return: -8%
Netflix (NFLX NASD)
Then: US$82.76
Now: US$78.94
Return: -5%
Total Return: -5%
Total Return Average: 0%
| DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT NASD | Y | Y | Y |
| MSCI NYSE | Y | Y | Y |
| NFLX NASD | Y | Y | Y |
