Source: Getty Images
Written by Jitendra Parashar at The Motley Fool Canada
Fear never fully leaves the market. It just changes shape. One month it’s inflation, the next it’s interest rates or global tensions. But while the noise keeps shifting, fundamentally strong stocks just keep doing what they do best. They grow earnings, serve customers, and keep rewarding shareholders.
In this article, I’ll talk about two such reliable Canadian stocks that could give investors peace of mind and solid long-term potential even when the market gets a little wobbly.
Let’s start with Dollarama (TSX:DOL), a Canadian stock that continues to deliver growth even when consumer sentiment is shaky. It’s one of Canada’s most recognized discount retailers, operating well over 1,600 stores across the country and holding a 60.1% stake in Latin American retailer Dollarcity. Its products range from everyday consumables to seasonal items, offered at fixed price points up to $5 per item in Canada.
After rallying by 34% so far in 2025, DOL stock currently trades at $185.80 per share, giving it a market cap of $51.5 billion. What’s fueling the recent rally is not just investor sentiment, but the company’s consistently strong financial performance.
In the first quarter of its fiscal 2026 (ended May 4, 2025), the company’s sales rose 8.2% from a year ago to $1.52 billion, driven by a healthy 4.9% growth in its comparable store sales. Its quarterly EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) also surged 18.8% YoY (year over year) to $496.2 million, improving its EBITDA margin from 29.7% to 32.6%. This uptick in margins was largely supported by lower logistics costs and a strong mix of consumables and seasonal sales.
Looking ahead, Dollarama’s growth strategy is firmly on track as it plans to open 70 to 80 new stores this year and expand further into Latin America and Australia. For this purpose, it recently completed the acquisition of The Reject Shop, Australia’s largest discount retailer.
With predictable demand, growing margins, and a strong expansion plan, Dollarama could be a smart buy when caution dominates the market.
Let’s now turn to a safe Canadian stock that benefits from stable consumer demand, no matter the broader market volatility. Metro (TSX:MRU) currently operates nearly 1,000 food stores and around 640 pharmacies across Quebec and Ontario.
After surging by 15% year to date, MRU stock trades at $103.96 per share with a market cap of $22.7 billion, and pays a quarterly dividend with an annualized yield of 1.4%.
Story Continues
In the second quarter of its fiscal 2025 (ended March 15, 2025), the company registered a 5% YoY increase in its sales to $4.91 billion, with its food same-store sales up 5.3% and pharmacy same-store sales up 7%.
Beyond the numbers, Metro continues to invest in store expansion and technology upgrades, including automation in its supply chain and pharmacy operations. For investors looking for a stock that thrives in essentials like groceries and medicine, Metro brings both stability and long-term upside potential — especially when fear makes the broader market unpredictable.
The post 2 Stocks to Buy When Fear Rules the Market appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Before you buy stock in Dollarama, 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 Dollarama 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
Fool contributor Jitendra Parashar has positions in Dollarama. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
2025