Economic Picture Hands Canada Bank Regulator a Tough Call on Capital
I'm Christine Dobby, Bloomberg's Toronto-based banking reporter, and you'll find me in your inbox every Friday. This week, we're talking about bank capital levels and what they say about the economy, Bank of Montreal's wealth-management acquisition and a call for foreign investment in Canada's aviation market. Plus: population stagnation.
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SIA earnings down 58.8% y-o-y for 1QFY2026 to $186 mil from lower interest income
Lower cash balances, interest rate cuts and SIA recording a share of losses of associates companies has led to lower earnings for the quarter. Singapore Airlines (SIA) has posted a lower net profit of $186 million for the 1QFY2026 ended June 30, down 58.8% y-o-y from the $452 million reported in the same period a year ago. Earnings per share came in lower at 6.3 cents for 1QFY2026. Meanwhile, group revenue increased marginally to $4.79 billion in the quarter, up 1.5% y-o-y. SIA and Scoot carried a record 10.3 million passengers, up 6.9% y-o-y in 1QFY2026, and the group passenger load factor grew 0.7 percentage points (ppts). Passenger yields slipped 2.9% to 10 cents per revenue passenger-kilometre amid heightened competition as more airlines continue to add capacity. Cargo flown revenue fell by 1.9% for 1QFY2026 as yields deteriorated 4.4%, and cargo load factor (CLF) declined by 0.8 ppts to 56.9% as cargo load growth of 2.8% lagged capacity expansion of 4.2%. In the 1QFY2026, group expenditure rose 3.2% y-o-y to $4.39 billion in the quarter mainly due to higher non-fuel expenditure, which was driven by the 3.7% rise in overall capacity and inflationary pressures on key cost elements. As such, SIA's operating profit was $405 million for the quarter, 13.8% y-o-y lower. The decline in net profit for the reporting period is largely attributable to a lower interest income, about $61 million less, on the back of lower cash balances and interest rate cuts, and the group recording a share of losses of associated companies compared to a share of profits for the same quarter last year. This is notably from Air India's financial results which were not part of SIA's results for the same quarter last year. The group started equity accounting for Air India's financial performance from December 2024 following the full integration of Vistara into Air India. As at June 30, the group's shareholder equity stood at $15.8 billion, $10.1 billion higher than the previous quarter. Total debt balances fell to $11.5 billion with debt to equity ratio reducing to 0.73. During the quarter, $235 million of the convertible bonds issued in December 2020 were converted at the conversion price of $4.8945 into 48 million ordinary shares. As at June 30, $615 million of the convertible bonds remain outstanding. Cash and bank balances declined to $7.8 billion due to repayment of borrowings and capital expenditure disbursements, as at end June. As at June 30, the group's operating fleet had 204 passenger and freighter aircraft with an average age of seven years and nine months. SIA operated 144 passenger aircraft and seven freighters, while Scoot operated 53 passenger aircraft. During the quarter, Scoot added one Airbus A321neo, one Boeing 787-8, and one Embraer E190-E2 aircraft to its fleet. The group has 72 aircraft on order at the end of this quarter. With the closure of Jetstar Asia on July 31, SIA says that it will ramp up capacity to various Asian destinations in Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. This includes Scoot commencing operations to Labuan Bajo and Medan (Indonesia), as well as Okinawa (Japan), subject to regulatory and operational approvals. On outlook, SIA group says that the global airline industry continues to face a volatile operating environment, with challenges ranging from geopolitical developments and macroeconomic fluctuations to changing market dynamics and supply chain constraints. 'The group will remain vigilant in this dynamic operating environment, while identifying and capitalising on emerging areas of growth,' it says. Shares in SIA Group closed 3 cents higher or 0.396% up at $7.60 on July 28. 27 cents for 1QFY2025/2026 SIA's chairman Peter Seah redesignated as non-independent director after AGM SIA Engineering reports 29.2% y-o-y higher net profit of $42.9 mil for 1QFY2026 Read more stories about where the money flows, and analysis of the biggest market stories from Singapore and around the World Get in-depth insights from our expert contributors, and dive into financial and economic trends Follow the market issue situation with our daily updates Or want more Lifestyle and Passion stories? Click hereSign in to access your portfolio
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1 Magnificent Stock to Buy Today and Hold for Decades
Written by Jitendra Parashar at The Motley Fool Canada When you invest in a stock for the long term, it's like entering a serious relationship. You want dependability. You want growth. And above all, you want something that won't give you headaches every time there's market noise. That's what makes Loblaw Companies (TSX:L) a great buy-and-hold stock for long-term investors. It's a company that doesn't just sell groceries and healthcare products. It offers peace of mind to its loyal investors. With a long track record of growing profits, raising dividends, and expanding its footprint across Canada, Loblaw checks all the right boxes for anyone looking for a reliable compounder you can hold for decades. In this article, I'll explain why Loblaw could be a top TSX stock to buy today and simply hold through thick and thin. A magnificent TSX stock you can hold for decades As Canada's largest grocery and pharmacy chain, Loblaw has over 2,800 locations and a presence in everything from food and health to fashion, financial, and mobile services. At the time of writing, its stock trades at $222.19 per share and carries a market cap of $66.6 billion. It pays a small but rising dividend every quarter, currently yielding just over 1%. One of the main factors that has made this buy-and-hold stock even more attractive lately is its stable performance. Interestingly, Loblaw stock has jumped by over 32% in the last year and has surged nearly 221% over the last five years. Improving profitability supports long-term confidence In the latest quarter ended in June, the company posted a 5.2% YoY (year-over-year) rise in its total revenue to $14.67 billion with the help of higher customer traffic, larger basket sizes, and new store openings. Its same-store sales for the quarter also climbed 3.5% YoY in food retail and 4.1% in the drug retail segment. Last quarter, Loblaw's discount banners like No Frills and Real Canadian Superstore outperformed as customers looked for value in a high-cost environment. Meanwhile, its pharmacy and healthcare services also performed well, with same-store sales jumping 6.2% YoY due to strong demand for specialty prescriptions. Loblaw's bottom line is just as impressive as its top line. In the latest quarter, the company's adjusted net profit jumped 8.6% YoY to $721 million. The company's adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) also climbed 7.4% from a year ago to $1.84 billion, while adjusted EBITDA margins remained stable at 12.5%. Why Loblaw stock is built for the long run What really makes Loblaw a great buy-and-hold stock isn't just what the company is doing today, but what it's consistently working towards for the future. Notably, the company plans to open about 80 new stores and 100 pharmacy clinics this year. So far, it has already opened 20 stores and 23 clinics. On the brighter side, it's also ramping up automation at its new East Gwillimbury distribution centre to improve efficiency, which should lead to better profitability. And with a fresh 4-for-1 stock split coming in August, Loblaw stock will become even more accessible to retail investors. All these positive factors make Loblaw a top stock to buy today and simply hold for decades. The post 1 Magnificent Stock to Buy Today and Hold for Decades appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Should you invest $1,000 in Loblaw Companies right now? Before you buy stock in Loblaw Companies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team just identified what they believe are the Top Stocks for 2025 and Beyond for investors to buy now… and Loblaw Companies wasn't one of them. The Top Stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 ... if you invested $1,000 in the 'eBay of Latin America' at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $24,927.94!* Stock Advisor Canada provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month – one from Canada and one from the U.S. The Stock Advisor Canada service has outperformed the return of S&P/TSX Composite Index by 30 percentage points since 2013*. See the Top Stocks * Returns as of 6/23/25 More reading 10 Stocks Every Canadian Should Own in 2025 3 Canadian Companies Powering the AI Revolution A Commonsense Cash Back Credit Card We Love Fool contributor Jitendra Parashar has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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This Financial Services Stock Is My Fintech Exposure Pick
Written by Amy Legate-Wolfe at The Motley Fool Canada When people think of fintech stocks, their minds often go to flashy U.S. names like Square, PayPal, or Robinhood. But right here in Canada, there's one under-the-radar name that offers exposure to the growing intersection of finance and technology: Bitfarms (TSX:BITF). While it might not fit the traditional mould of a bank-turned-tech firm, Bitfarms is building out a digital infrastructure that could make it a powerhouse in the financial services industry of the future. An alternative fintech stock Let's be clear: Bitfarms is not a bank, nor does it operate like one. It's a Bitcoin mining company. But with crypto adoption on the rise and institutions increasingly warming to digital assets, Bitfarms offers exposure to one of the fastest-evolving areas of fintech. It combines data centre operations, blockchain validation, and financial technology in a way that most traditional financial stocks simply don't. And it's growing. In its first-quarter 2025 results, Bitfarms reported revenue of $67 million, up from 33% from the year before. That's driven by both higher production and increased transaction fees on the Bitcoin network. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at $16 million, down from $23 million in the same quarter of 2024. It also mined over 693 Bitcoin in Q2, up from the last quarter, but down from 2024 levels. With a new site opening in Paraguay and further upgrades across its Canadian facilities, Bitfarms is pushing for more scale and lower costs. More to come Of course, there are risks. This is a volatile fintech stock that moves closely with the price of Bitcoin. When Bitcoin fell sharply in 2022 and 2023, Bitfarms shares tumbled as well. But the company used that downturn to clean up its balance sheet, restructure its debt, and streamline operations. It ended the first quarter of 2025 with the flexibility to weather short-term crypto price swings. More importantly, Bitfarms now has over 19.5 exahash per second of installed hashrate capacity, more than triple what it was a year ago. That makes it one of the largest and most efficient public miners in the world. As Bitcoin adoption continues and more financial services integrate crypto infrastructure, Bitfarms stands to benefit. It doesn't just mine coins, it validates transactions on a secure, decentralized network that underpins a new form of digital finance. Considerations So why consider this a fintech play? Because the future of finance is digital. From tokenized assets to blockchain-based lending, everything about the way we exchange value is evolving. Bitfarms doesn't build the apps; we're not talking about flashy consumer tech here, but it provides the back-end rails for a decentralized, digital financial future. That's the kind of exposure many fintech exchange-traded funds (ETF) completely miss. Valuation-wise, Bitfarms is still inexpensive, especially considering its growth rate. The fintech stock's market cap is just over $964 million, and it trades at a fraction of the multiples you'd see with legacy fintech names. As the market begins to recognize digital infrastructure as a core part of the financial system, Bitfarms could re-rate much higher. Bottom line This isn't a pick for the faint of heart. The stock is volatile and tied closely to Bitcoin sentiment. But if you're looking for fintech exposure with higher risk and potentially higher reward, it's worth a look. Unlike some tech darlings that are all promise and no profit, Bitfarms is producing results. It's mining real assets, generating real cash, and scaling up operations with every quarter. When everyone's looking at payment apps and digital wallets at the front end, it's easy to miss the infrastructure behind it all. Bitfarms gives investors exposure to that infrastructure. And if you believe that crypto will play a growing role in global finance, this Canadian miner could be your ticket into the backend of fintech. That's why it's my fintech exposure pick, even if it doesn't come wrapped in the usual tech packaging. The post This Financial Services Stock Is My Fintech Exposure Pick appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Should you invest $1,000 in Robinhood Markets, Inc. right now? Before you buy stock in Robinhood Markets, Inc., consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team just identified what they believe are the Top Stocks for 2025 and Beyond for investors to buy now… and Robinhood Markets, Inc. wasn't one of them. The Top Stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 ... if you invested $1,000 in the 'eBay of Latin America' at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $24,927.94!* Stock Advisor Canada provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month – one from Canada and one from the U.S. The Stock Advisor Canada service has outperformed the return of S&P/TSX Composite Index by 30 percentage points since 2013*. See the Top Stocks * Returns as of 6/23/25 More reading 10 Stocks Every Canadian Should Own in 2025 3 Canadian Companies Powering the AI Revolution A Commonsense Cash Back Credit Card We Love Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Block and PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025
