The Weekly Brief (As of April 9)
- GFL Environmental (GFL) raised quarterly dividend by 10 percent to US$1.69 per share from US$1.54 per share in the same period last year.
- Amazon (AMZN) and airlines add fuel surcharges amid high gas prices due to the Iran War.
- Apple’s (AAPL) first foldable phone is on track to arrive during the company’s normal iPhone launch in September this year.
- Shares of oil producers like Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Chevron (CVX), Exxon Mobil (XOM), etc. dropped sharply after U.S., Israel and Iran agreed to a 2-week ceasefire.
- Amazon (AMZN) cloud unit’s annualized AI revenue exceeds $15 billion, CEO Andy Jassy said, the first time AMZN has reported numbers on a business it has invested billions of dollars.
*Analysts of 5i Research responsible for this report have a financial or other interest in AMZN and AAPL. The i2i Fund does not have a financial or other interest in securities mentioned. Clients of i2i Capital Managements Private Investment Counsel service (i2i PIC) may hold a financial interest in any companies discussed and the views of i2i PIC may differ from the views of 5i Research.
Introducing Benchmark Beaters — Our New Weekly Screener
We recently launched a new recurring weekly series: Benchmark Beaters.
The idea is simple. A stock hitting an all-time high does not automatically mean it is winning - what actually matters is whether it is beating the market it trades in. Every week, our screener identifies Canadian and US stocks making new highs relative to their benchmark - TSX for Canadian names, S&P 500 for US names. Stocks that show up are not just rising - they are outperforming.
Each week we flag whether a name is new to the list (just started outperforming), a repeat (2–3 consecutive weeks), or on a streak (4+ weeks running). That context matters. A name holding a streak of relative strength is indicating something different than one that just appeared.
The full downloadable report - which includes dozens of Canadian and US names across new, repeat, and streak categories with sector, market cap, and 6-month performance data - is available here: Benchmark Beaters Sign-Up Form
Report Updates
We have posted report updates on TVK Industries (TVK) and MTY Food Group (MTY). TVK is a diversified industrial conglomerate serving energy, agriculture, mining, transportation, and data centre end markets - and one of Canada's most disciplined serial acquirers over the past decade. MTY is one of Canada's largest multi-brand restaurant franchisors, running 80+ QSR and casual dining concepts across 7,000+ locations in Canada and the US through an asset-light royalty model. One company just completed its largest-ever acquisition and is navigating the integration complexity that comes with growing into a mid-cap, while the other is leaning on buybacks and dividend hikes as organic growth remains elusive.
Read the latest updates by logging in here!