Growth Stocks

Although growth stock picks can be highly volatile, they can make good long-term investments. They may be well-known stars or quiet gems, but they do share one common attribute—they are growing at a higher-than-average rate within their industry, or within the market as a whole, and could keep growing for years or decades.

And keep in mind that we focus on growth stocks, which have a good long-term history and favourable prospects. We downplay momentum stocks that tend to attract many investors simply because they are moving faster than the market averages, but are liable to fall sharply when their momentum fades.

There’s room for growth stock investing in your portfolio, but make sure you follow our TSI Network three-part Successful Investor strategy for your overall portfolio:

  1. Invest mainly in well-established companies;
  2. Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; Utilities);
  3. Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.

Make better stock picks when you read this FREE Special Report, Canadian Growth Stocks: WestJet Stock, RioCan Stock and More.

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Growth Stocks Library Archives
More people are accessing the Internet through mobile devices, which has hurt computer and printer sales. Hewlett-Packard is responding by splitting in two, while Canon (see box) is repurchasing shares and making deep cost cuts. However, both stocks will stay in a narrow range until their sales improve. HEWLETT-PACKARD CO. $34 (New York symbol HPQ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $64.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.hp.com) plans to break itself into two separate companies. The first firm, called Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, will sell computing products, like servers and analytics software, to businesses and governments. It will also offer cloud computing services and financing. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise will have annual revenue of $58.4 billion and gross profits of $6 billion....
CANON INC. ADRs $30 (New York symbol CAJ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $33.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canon.com) continues to see weak demand for printers and digital cameras. That’s because consumers are taking more photos with their smartphones. They’re also increasingly storing their pictures online instead of printing them. As a result, Canon’s sales fell 6.0% in the three months ended June 30, 2014, to $9.2 billion from $9.8 billion a year earlier. However, thanks to a successful cost-cutting plan, the company’s earnings jumped 19.2%, to $800.5 million from $671.7 million. Earnings per ADR rose 24.1%, to $0.72 from $0.58 (each American Depositary Receipt represents one common share), on fewer shares outstanding....
NEWMONT MINING CORP. $23 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 498.8 million; Market cap: $11.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 0.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) has sold its 44% stake in a joint venture that owns the La Herradura gold mine in northern Mexico. The company received $450 million for its stake. Including this sale, Newmont has now raised $1.3 billion by selling less important assets in the past year. That frees up cash for more promising projects, such as its Merian gold mine in Suriname, which will cost $1 billion and should open in late 2016. Merian’s reserves should last 11 years. Newmont is a hold....
YUM! BRANDS INC. $69 (New York symbol YUM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 437.5 million; Market cap: $30.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.yum.com) earned $404 million in the three months ended September 6, 2014, up 165.8% from $152 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 169.7%, to $0.89 from $0.33, on fewer shares outstanding. If you disregard unusual items, including last year’s writedown of Yum’s investment in the Little Sheep restaurant chain in China, earnings rose 2.4%, to $0.87 a share from $0.85. Sales declined 3.2%, to $3.35 billion from $3.5 billion. That’s mainly because a food-safety scare has cut traffic at Yum’s KFC outlets in China. As a result, the China division’s same-store sales fell 14%. However, same-store sales rose 3% at the company’s other KFC locations and 3% at Taco Bell. Same-store sales also rose 4% at the India division, while Pizza Hut saw a 1% decline....
3M COMPANY $139 (New York symbol MMM; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 648.0 million; Market cap: $90.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.3m.com) started up in 1902, when it was called the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company. It now makes over 55,000 different products, including pressure-sensitive masking and packaging tape, air purifiers, medical device components and reflective highway signs. Top brands include Post-it notes, Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite cleaning products, Scotchguard protection and Thinsulate insulation. 3M’s wide variety of products cuts its reliance on a single industry or customer. Sales from outside the U.S. account for two-thirds of its total....
L BRANDS INC. $69 (www.lb.com) reported that its sales rose 8.6% in September 2014, to $853.5 million from $786.0 million in September 2013. Overall same-store sales gained 6%. Thanks to strong demand for its Pink brand, which targets college-age women, Victoria’s Secret same-store sales rose 4% during the month, while its online and catalogue sales improved 5%....
EBAY INC., $47.95, Nasdaq symbol EBAY, reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings, but its revenue missed the consensus estimate. It also lowered its earnings and revenue outlook for the current quarter. That caused the stock to fall 8% this week. In the three months ended September 30, 2014, eBay earned $848 million, up 1.3% from $837 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 6.3%, to $0.68 from $0.64, on fewer shares outstanding. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.67. Revenue rose 11.8%, to $4.35 billion from $3.9 billion, but that missed consensus estimate of $4.37 billion....
DOMINO’S PIZZA INC., $84.84, symbol DPZ on New York, shot up over 12% this week after reporting strong quarterly results. The company operates the world’s largest chain of pizza stores that offer takeout and delivery. It has 10,900 outlets in the U.S. and over 70 other countries. Franchisees run most of them. In the three months ended September 7, 2014, the company’s earnings per share jumped 18.9%, to $0.63 from $0.53 a year earlier, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61....
DOREL INDUSTRIES $32.77 (Toronto symbol DII.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-731-0000; www.dorel.com; Shares outstanding: 32.3 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Dividend yield: 4.0%) makes a range of items, including ready-to-assemble home and office furniture; juvenile products, such as car seats, strollers, high chairs, toddler beds and cribs; and recreational goods, mainly bicycles. In the three months ended June 30, 2014, Dorel’s sales rose 9.2%, to $655.8 million from $600.4 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Sales rose 20.2% at the recreational segment and 3.2% at the juvenile products division. Home furnishing sales fell slightly. Earnings per share rose 14.6%, to $0.47 from $0.41. Sales of its highly profitable Cannondale and Pacific Cycle premium bikes remain strong. That offset a small loss from Dorel’s 70% stake in Caloi, which it bought for an undisclosed amount last year....
SYMANTEC CORP. $22.15 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (408-517- 8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 690.3 million; Market cap: $15.5 billion; Dividend yield: 2.7%) plans to break itself into two publicly traded companies. One will keep the Symantec name and focus on antivirus and security software and services. The other will consist of its information management (IM) operations, which include data backup and recovery software. Symantec aims to hand out shares in the IM business by the end of 2015....