Willow Ridge Wind Project gets Alberta Utilities Commission approval
The Alberta Utilities Commission approved a wind project just south of Fort Macleod, but the approval hasn't come without opposition.
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Globe and Mail
29 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
2 Top Stocks to Buy Now at Big Discounts and Hold for Years
Sometimes Wall Street can be very slow to understand the real value of a business. The competitive advantage and growth strategy of a company can be misunderstood, leading to depressed valuations and underperforming share prices. Investors who can see through the stock volatility and focus on the key signals that set a company up for long-term success can be rewarded with outsize gains over time. Here are two stocks of market-leading brands that are trading well off their previous highs and could be significantly undervalued. 1. RH RH (NYSE: RH), the company formerly known as Restoration Hardware, emerged as a prominent luxury furniture brand over the past decade. In the past year, however, the business struggled with several macroeconomic headwinds, such as a weak housing market and uncertainties over tariffs. Questions about near-term demand have sent the stock down 52% this year, but this is a great buying opportunity for a long-term investor. RH's trailing-12-month revenue of $3.3 billion is below its previous peak of $3.9 billion a few years ago, but it just reported a strong first quarter. Revenue grew 12% year over year in the quarter, outperforming the rest of the industry. RH is expanding its addressable market to hospitality offerings in its design galleries, such as restaurants and wine bars, which has elevated the shopping experience to something that cannot be replicated by e-commerce competitors. Moreover, the company entered the $200 billion North American hotel industry with RH Guesthouses, and it offers much more, including private jets and luxury yachts for charter in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. All this creates an ecosystem of services meant to showcase the RH lifestyle and raise the brand to something more than just furniture products. It's for these reasons that RH has a history of reporting much higher margins than the average furniture store. Its adjusted operating margin was 7% in the first quarter, below its previous 10-year average of 12%. It should return to those higher margins in a strong housing market, and this is not reflected in the stock's valuation. Over the last 10 years, the stock traded at a price-to-sales multiple ranging from 0.48 to 6.59. The average was just over 2 times sales, with the stock currently trading at a multiple of 1.16. Investors who buy shares at these lower discounted prices and hold until the housing market is fully recovered should be well rewarded. 2. Roku Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) is another beaten-down stock whose long-term prospects are not fully reflected by its current share price. The stock is trading about 32% below where it was five years ago, but the platform continues to show double-digit growth in revenue that sets up a potential bull run. Roku is a leading connected-TV streaming platform that is benefiting from a growing digital advertising market, which is how the company generates most of its revenue. It also gets a small percentage of revenue from selling its streaming devices, but that is a low-margin business. Advertising can be cyclical with the broader economy, and that's what caused the stock to collapse a few years ago. But Wall Street is missing the real value of the company's platform. It is fundamentally a TV operating system that has achieved tremendous viewership in the U.S. through its affordable Roku TVs and streaming devices. The company reaches half of U.S. broadband households. This large viewership led to 35.8 billion total streaming hours on its platform in the first quarter, representing a year-over-year increase of 16%. This opens up a lot of opportunities for growth over the long term, as evidenced by a recent deal with Amazon. Roku just announced an integration with Amazon Ads, which could have a significant impact on Roku's advertising revenue. This partnership will allow advertisers to access 80% of U.S. connected TV households through Amazon's demand-side platform, sending more business to Roku. The streamer's revenue grew 16% year over year in the first quarter, indicating more advertising by big brands that want exposure to its large user base. This reach provides tremendous negotiating power with content providers, retail brands, and other media companies that would like access to Roku's audience. The stock is priced at a 2.74 price-to-sales multiple, which is at the low end of its past trading range. As Roku continues attract more advertising investment, investors who patiently hold the stock will be rewarded. Should you invest $1,000 in RH right now? Before you buy stock in RH, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and RH wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Roku. The Motley Fool recommends RH. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
SAAQclic: Former CEO says his confidence in IT VP has been shaken
Commissioner Denis Gallant of the Commission of Inquiry into the Management of the Modernization of the Société de l'assurance automobile (SAAQ) IT Systems is awaiting the start of the public inquiry into the failures of the SAAQclic platform in Montreal on Thursday, April 24 2025. A public inquiry into the SAAQ's costly digital transformation has revealed that it could cost the province nearly half a billion dollars more than originally anticipated. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) The former president and CEO of Quebec's auto insurance board (SAAQ) says his confidence in his IT leader 'seriously eroded' after the failed launch of the SAAQclic platform, but he was not ready to fire him. On Friday, Denis Marsolais testified about the first weeks of the crisis that followed the disastrous rollout of the new interface in February 2023. He was the one who found himself in the spotlight 'defending his organization' in the media. He relied on the words of his vice-president of information technology (IT), Karl Malenfant. Marsolais gave the example of a radio interview with host Paul Arcand in the early days of the crisis. 'I told him, 'Rest assured, Mr. Arcand, I'm told that the problems (with) the software will be resolved within two to three months.'' 'Again, I'm not making this up. I'm not the expert. I was told that the problems would be resolved within three months,' Marsolais told the Gallant Commission. 'Who told you that?' asked Commissioner Denis Gallant. Malenfant, replied the former CEO. 'Mr. Malenfant, he's selling you the seventh wonder of the world, and you end up with a system that doesn't work,' said the commissioner. Gallant asked him if he still trust his VP of IT, even though there were endless queues in front of the branches and people were not signing up for the platform. 'Now it's starting to seriously fall apart,' Marsolais acknowledged. Yet in the weeks and days leading up to the launch of SAAQclic, he said he was confident about the project, despite some warnings. 'Everyone was not only confident, but agreed to roll it out and that we were ready for deployment. So I trusted the experts around the table,' he said. 'I wasn't told everything' Marsolais suggested that he ultimately felt betrayed by Malenfant. 'Throughout my career, I have always had associate deputy ministers and vice-presidents in my inner circle. I have always trusted these people. They have always been loyal to me. They have never betrayed my trust,' he said. 'Today, I have to tell you that I think there is an exception to the rule,' he added. Marsolais felt that Malenfant did not give him 'all the information at the right time.' 'I am increasingly certain that I was not told everything,' he said, adding that he 'should have been more vigilant.' The executive revealed that someone had suggested he dismiss his IT boss in March 2023. He felt that replacing Malenfant in the middle of a mess would have been 'even more dramatic.' 'I told him that Mr. Malenfant is theoretically retiring in December. (...) I said, 'Give me until June. In June, he will take early retirement and that's it,'' explained Marsolais. Instead, it was Marsolais who left first, when he 'left his role' in April. He is now president of the Office de la protection du consommateur (consumer protection agency). Summer break The conclusion of Marsolais' testimony on Friday marked the end of the eighth week of hearings by the Gallant Commission, which aims to shed light on the setbacks encountered during the SAAQ's digital transformation. Public hearings are suspended until Aug. 18 for a summer break. In the meantime, the commission team will continue its investigation. Tens of thousands of documents must be reviewed. To date, more than 300 exhibits have been filed and 45 witnesses have been heard during the public hearings. 'One thing is already clear: the overall budget for the project has grown to immeasurable proportions,' said the commission's chief prosecutor, Simon Tremblay. The SAAQ's failed digital transition is expected to cost taxpayers at least $1.1 billion, or $500 million more than anticipated, according to calculations by the Auditor General of Quebec. One of the next areas the commission is expected to examine is 'who knew what.' 'We got a taste of it this week. This is the beginning of that part,' said Tremblay. There are still several key players to be questioned, including former CEO Nathalie Tremblay and the current CEO, Éric Ducharme, as well as Malenfant, whose name has come up repeatedly since the testimony began. The latter submitted a request this week to obtain participant status, which would allow him to cross-examine witnesses. His request is currently under review. CAQ ministers François Bonnardel and Geneviève Guilbeault have also not been heard so far. The commission will have to hear them before the National Assembly resumes its work in mid-September. The Legault government has granted the Gallant commission a two-and-a-half-month extension to complete its mandate. The commissioner must submit his report by Dec. 15 at the latest, according to the new schedule. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French June 20, 2025. Frédéric Lacroix-Couture, The Canadian Press
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
CTV National News: What the passing of the 'One Canadian Economy' Act means
Watch The Liberal government's contentious 'One Canadian Economy' bill cleared the House of Commons thanks to votes from Conservatives. Rachel Aiello explains.
