• Shopify posted strong fourth-quarter revenue, helped by the key holiday shopping period.
• The company missed analysts’ expectations for earnings, and it forecast free-cash-flow margins in the first quarter that could be lower than last year.
• It also announced a $2 billion share repurchase program.

Shopify on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter results that beat on the top line and gave strong guidance to start the year. The stock slid more than 10%.

Here’s how the company did, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 48 cents adjusted vs. 51 cents
• Revenue: $3.67 billion vs. $3.59 billion

The Canadian e-commerce company said it expects first-quarter revenue to expand at a “low-thirties percentage rate” year over year, which is higher than the 25.1% growth forecast by analysts, according to FactSet.

Shopify projected its free-cash-flow margin to be in the “low-to-mid teens” in the first quarter, which is slightly lower than a year ago. CFO Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts that it reflects the company’s continued investment in AI tools.

The company’s board of directors also approved $2 billion in share buybacks.

Shares of software companies have sold off heavily in recent weeks as investors grew increasingly concerned about the potential threat of artificial intelligence tools.

Shopify, which sells software to help businesses launch and run their online storefronts, has tried to position itself at the forefront of emerging AI shopping tools. The company was an early partner of OpenAI when it launched its Instant Checkout feature, and it helped Google develop a protocol for AI shopping bots to facilitate transactions across the web.

Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday that the company has “laid the rails” for AI shopping and is poised to benefit from how it disrupts e-commerce.

Some fears of an AI-driven software wipeout are overblown, Finkelstein said.

“I think there’s an incredible opportunity coming with AI, but I think you have to look at the companies that are acting as infrastructure, as platforms, vs. ones that are just features,” Finkelstein said. “Shopify is internet infrastructure.”

The company’s revenues were lifted by the key holiday shopping period, which saw “record” spending in 2025, according to Adobe Analytics. Online spending from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 increased 6.8% to $257.8 billion, Adobe said, beating its forecast of $253.4 billion.

Shoppers remained resilient during the holiday shopping season despite a dour economic backdrop dominated by weakening consumer confidence, President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policies and a slowing job market.

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that retail sales in December were flat after increasing 0.6% in November, capping off the year on a downbeat note after a period of otherwise solid shopping activity.

Shopify’s gross merchandise volume, or the total volume of merchandise sold on the platform, came in higher than expected. GMV surged 29% year over year to $123.8 billion, surpassing analysts’ estimated $121.3 billion, according to FactSet.

• Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 for January, above the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 55,000.
• The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.3%. A more encompassing measure slipped to 8%, down 0.4 percentage point from December.
• As has often been the case for the U.S. labor market, health care led job gains in December, adding 82,000 positions. Social assistance also rose, up 42,000, while construction added 33,000.
• The BLS also released final benchmark revisions for the year prior to March 2025. Those numbers saw the initial counts revised lower by a total 898,000, about in line with expectations.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/11/jobs-report-january-2026-.html

 Shopify Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit of US$743 million as its revenue rose 31 per cent compared with a year earlier.

The e-commerce company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says the profit amounted to 57 cents US per diluted share for quarter ended Dec. 31.

The result compared with a profit of US$1.29 billion or 99 cents US per diluted share in the last three months of 2024.

Revenue for the quarter totalled US$3.67 billion, up from US$2.81 billion a year earlier.

Merchant solutions revenue totalled US$2.90 billion, up from US$2.15 billion a year earlier, while subscription solutions revenue totalled US$777 million, up from US$666 million.

In its outlook, Shopify says it expects revenue for the first quarter of 2026 to grow at a low-thirties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis, similar to the fourth quarter of 2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.

Canada’s main stock index rose to a record high on ⁠Tuesday, with ​industrial and metal mining shares among the biggest gainers as investors weighed whether a recent rotation out of technology shares would continue.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 233.51 points, or ​0.7%, at 33,256.83, eclipsing the record ‌closing high it posted on January 28.

U.S. markets were mixed, with the benchmark S&P 500 ending lower after the release of disappointing U.S. retail sales figures.

Investors have worried in recent weeks about the amount of ‌money technology ​companies say they must ‌spend to support the artificial-intelligence boom.

“Whether this rotation continues out ​of tech into other sectors or do ⁠we go back to tech companies depends on ⁠this week’s macro data,” said Michael Dehal, a senior portfolio manager at Dehal ​Investment Partners at Raymond James. “It would be a big catalyst for how the markets kind of play out for the next couple of weeks.”

The delayed but closely watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls report is due on Wednesday.

Data on Tuesday showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly stalled in December as households scaled back spending ‌on vehicles and other big-ticket items, suggesting a slower growth path for consumer spending and the economy heading into the new year. The flat reading compared with economists’ estimates for 0.4% growth.

A ​separate report from the Labor Department showed the Employment Cost Index (ECI), the broadest measure of labour costs, rose 0.7% in the fourth quarter after advancing 0.8% in the July-September quarter and below the estimate for a 0.8% rise as demand for labour has waned.

Trader hopes edged up for a more dovish Federal Reserve with the probability of a one-notch April rate cut up to 36.9% from 32.2% on Monday, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Markets still expect, however, that the central bank will keep rates on hold until June, when ‌President Donald Trump’s ​Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, would take charge if ‌approved by the U.S. Senate.

Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, described the disappointing retail data as “bad news is good ​news,” particularly for rate-sensitive industry indexes such as utilities and real estate, which ⁠were leading the benchmark’s sector gainers.

Those gains were buoyed by lower bond yields. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note fell 5.1 basis points to 4.147%, ​its fourth straight day of declines. The yield has dropped more than 13 basis points over that timeframe, its biggest four-day drop since mid-October. Other data from the Labor Department on Tuesday said U.S. import prices were unchanged on a year-on-year basis in December after falling 0.1% in November.

Gains for railroad shares helped ⁠lift the TSX industrials sector by 1%. The materials group, which includes metal mining shares, was ‌up 0.9% even as gold gave back some recent gains.

Heavily weighted financials ​added 0.6%, while utilities were up 0.5%.

Shares of e-commerce company Shopify Inc jumped 7.4%. Still, the technology index ended 0.2% lower.

Consumer staples also lost ​ground, falling 0.7%.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 communication services sector was the market’s weakest sector, weighed down by Alphabet shares, which fell 1.8% after Google’s parent said it sold bonds worth US$20 billion. The announcement played in to investor worries about the amount of money technology companies say they must spend to support the artificial-intelligence boom, with Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft collectively set to spend hundreds of billions in 2026 as they ​race for AI dominance.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.27 points, or 0.10%, to 50,188.14, after hitting an intraday record high earlier in the day. The S&P 500 lost 23.01 points, or 0.33%, to 6,941.81 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 136.20 points, or 0.59%, to 23,102.47.

Gains of more than 2% in stocks such as Walt Disney and Home Depot helped push up the blue-chip Dow, countering declines in shares including Coca-Cola, which finished down 1.5% after missing Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue.

In other individual stocks, Datadog jumped 13.7% and led S&P 500 percentage ⁠gainers on the day after the cloud-based monitoring and analytics platform beat quarterly estimates.

In the ​consumer discretionary sector, Marriott closed up 8.5% for its biggest daily gain since April after also hitting a record high. The hotel chain projected a 35% jump ⁠in fees from co-branded credit cards, as affluent travelers splurge on luxury vacations.

Shares of S&P Global slumped 9.7%, making it the biggest loser in the S&P 500 after forecasting 2026 profit ‌below analysts’ estimates. Peers Moody’s and MSCI also fell.

Spotify shares soared 14.7% after the audio-streaming platform forecast first-quarter earnings above expectations, benefiting from strong user growth ​and price hikes.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.47-to-1 ratio on the NYSE where there were 795 new highs and 65 new lows. On the Nasdaq, 2,276 stocks rose and 2,447 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.08-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 72 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 105 new highs and 107 new lows.

On U.S. ​exchanges, 17.89 billion shares changed hands compared with the 20.68 billion-share moving average for the last 20 sessions.

Key Points

• Persistent price pressure highlighted weak demand despite meeting last year’s growth target.
• Policymakers signaled looser monetary policy ahead of key economic meetings.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/11/china-inflation-january-cpi-ppi-deflation.html

Key Points

• New AI tools from Anthropic sparked a broad sell-off in software and data stocks.
• Executives say fears are overblown, but analysts warn of margin and pricing pressure.
• Investors are reassessing which software firms can coexist with AI in the long term.

The software sector faced renewed market concerns this week after artificial intelligence company Anthropic released new AI tools, triggering a sell-off in software-as-a-service and data provider stocks. 

Anthropic’s new AI tools, built for its Claude “Cowork” AI agent, are designed to handle complex professional workflows that many software and data providers sell as core products.

The tools and other similar AI agents target functions ranging from legal and technology research, customer relationship management and analytics. That has raised concerns that AI could undercut traditional software business models.

The S&P 500 Software & Services Index, which has 140 constituents, fell over 4% on Thursday, extending its losing streak to eight sessions. The index is down about 20% so far this year.

Shares of Thomson Reuters, Salesforce and LegalZoom were among the hardest hit in U.S. trading this week, with the sell-off spreading to Asian IT firms Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys.

Despite the market jitters, analysts and tech executives remain divided on the long-term impact of these AI tools on these industries.

‘Illogical’ panic?

Among tech leaders downplaying market concerns that AI will replace enterprise software is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

“There’s this notion that the software industry is in decline and will be replaced by AI,” he said at an event on Wednesday. “It is the most illogical thing in the world.”

The influential tech leader instead argued that AI will use and enhance existing software tools rather than completely reinventing them.

Rene Haas, CEO of British chip designer Arm Holdings, echoed that sentiment this week, arguing during an earnings call that enterprise AI deployment is still in its early days and not yet massively transformative.

Haas described recent market fears as “micro-hysteria” in comments to the Financial Times.  

Still, concerns about the software sector predate the latest sell-offs. Hedge funds have already shorted about $24 billion in software stocks this year as of Wednesday. Short sellers borrow shares, sell them and aim to buy them back later at a lower price for a profit.

Meanwhile, Anthropic on Thursday launched what it called an improved AI model, ‌coming just days after its latest Claude tools spooked investors.

Mixed outlook 

While many tech analysts have increasingly warned that AI is going “to eat” software over the long term, views on that risk and the latest sell-off in software stocks remain mixed.

In a research note on Wednesday, Wedbush Securities echoed Jensen Huang’s comments, saying that while AI is a headwind for software providers, the sell-off reflected an “Armageddon scenario for the sector that is far from reality.” 

“Enterprises won’t completely overhaul tens of billions of dollars of prior software infrastructure investments to migrate over to Anthropic, OpenAI, and others,” the note said. 

Large enterprises, Wedbush Securities said, took decades to accumulate trillions of data points now ingrained in their software infrastructure.

Other analysts see more lasting pressure.

Advisory firm Constellation Research said Wednesday the sell-off reflects concerns that AI could pressure profits and limit how much software companies can charge, rather than signaling a death knell for the industry.

“There’s likely to be cannibalization of SaaS by AI-driven workflows and that will impact the multiple the sector trades on,” Rolf Bulk, tech equities analyst at Futurum Group, told CNBC.

That said, Bulk argued that a subset of software providers, especially those running mission-critical enterprise workloads such as Oracle and ServiceNow, still have a sustained “right to earn.” 

The depth of their data and entrenched role in customer workflows make them more likely to coexist with AI rather than be replaced outright, he added.

That bet is being pursued by software firms such as AlphaSense, a market data and research firm that leverages AI tools across its product offerings.

In a statement to CNBC, Chris Ackerson, SVP of Product at AlphaSense said that the “future belongs to providers that combine advanced AI with trusted content, explainability and deep domain context.”

— CNBC’s Matthew Chin contributed to this report

Key Points

• Tech’s megacaps announced major increases in capex for 2026, with the four hyperscalers now expecting combined spending of close to $700 billion.
• Reaching those numbers is going to mean a big drop in free cash flow, with Amazon projected to turn negative this year.
• “If you’re going to pour all this money into AI, it’s going to reduce your free cash flow,” said Longbow Asset Management CEO Jake Dollarhide

Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are expected to spend nearly $700 billion combined this year to fuel their AI build-outs.

For investors who love cash above all else, some warning signs may be flashing.

With the heart of tech earnings season wrapping up this week, Wall Street has a clearer picture of how the artificial intelligence race is poised to accelerate in 2026. The four hyperscalers are now projected to increase capital expenditures by more than 60% from the historic levels reached in 2025, as they load up on high-priced chips, build new mammoth facilities and buy the networking technology to connect it all.

Getting to those kinds of numbers is going to require sacrifice in the form of free cash flow. Last year, the four biggest U.S. internet companies generated a combined $200 billion in free cash flow, down from $237 billion in 2024.

The more dramatic drop appears to be ahead, as companies invest heavily up front, promising future returns on investment. That means margin pressures, less cash generation in the near term and the potential need to further tap the equity and debt markets. Alphabet held a $25 billion bond sale in November, and its long-term debt quadrupled in 2025 to $46.5 billion.

Amazon, which on Thursday said it expects to spend $200 billion this year, is now looking at negative free cash flow of almost $17 billion in 2026, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley, while Bank of America analysts see a deficit of $28 billion. In a filing with the SEC on Friday, Amazon let investors know that it may seek to raise equity and debt as its build-out continues.

Despite beating on revenue for the quarter, Amazon saw its stock sink almost 6% on Friday, bringing its drop for the year to 9%. Microsoft is down 17%, the most in the group, while Alphabet and Meta are up slightly.

While Amazon laid out the most aggressive spending plan among the megacaps, Alphabet wasn’t far behind. The company, which is investing in its cloud infrastructure business as well as its Gemini models, sees up to $185 billion in capex this year. Morgan Stanley managing director Brian Nowak told CNBC’s “Power Lunch” that he’s projecting even more spend in coming years, with Alphabet shelling out up to $250 billion in 2027.

Pivotal Research projects Alphabet’s free cash flow to plummet almost 90% this year to $8.2 billion from $73.3 billion in 2025. Analysts at Mizuho wrote in a report that bearish investors may look at the potential doubling of capex this year as “leaving limited FCF in 2026 with uncertain” return on investment.

Still, the analysts remain bullish and all kept their buy recommendations on the respective stocks. Longbow Asset Management CEO Jake Dollarhide is right there with them. He counts Amazon as the biggest holding in his portfolio, followed by Alphabet at fourth and Microsoft ninth.

“If you’re going to pour all this money into AI, it’s going to reduce your free cash flow,” Dollarhide said. “Do they have to go to the debt markets or short-term financing to find the optimal mix of equity and debt? Yeah. That’s why CEOs and CFOs are paid what they’re paid.”

‘Somewhat shocking’

Analysts at Barclays now see a drop of almost 90% in Meta’s free cash flow, after the social media company said last week that capex this year will reach as high as $135 billion. They kept their overweight rating even as they forecast an even tougher cash position the next two years.

“We are now modeling negative FCF for ’27 and ’28, which is somewhat shocking to us but likely what we eventually see for all companies in the AI infrastructure arms race,” the analysts wrote in a note after earnings.

When Meta CFO Susan Li was asked on the earnings call about capital allocation and the company’s plans for future buybacks, she responded that the “highest order priority is investing our resources to position ourselves as a leader in AI.”

At Microsoft, where capex is going up but at a slower rate than at its tech peers, Barclays estimates that free cash flow will slide by 28% this year before popping back up in 2027.

Representatives from Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta declined to comment.

A big advantage the tech industry’s most-valuable companies have over high-flying AI upstarts like OpenAI and Anthropic is that they’ve accumulated a massive cash pile in recent years. As of the end of the latest quarter, the four leaders had a total of over $420 billion in cash and equivalents.

Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a report on Thursday about Alphabet that the company’s infrastructure build-out is creating a “meaningful moat.” It’s a sentiment shared broadly by industry executives and experts who view AI as a generational opportunity with revenue reaching will into the trillions.

Businesses today are testing and building new AI agents to handle all sorts of tasks, including developing applications with just a few text prompts. All of that advancement requires hefty amounts of compute, which the cloud providers say is creating insatiable demand for their technology.

“Between what’s happening in business and enterprise — they are all building on these AI companies Google, Meta, Amazon,” Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman told CNBC in an interview “These are core technologies.”  

Morgan Stanley’s Nowak said Alphabet is “seeing a lot of signal on return when it comes to Google Cloud, return on Google search and YouTube.” And Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said on his company’s earnings call that growth at Amazon Web Services was “the fastest we’ve seen in 13 quarters.”

But plenty of unknowns remain, and some skeptics worry that a slipup at OpenAI, which has announced over $1.4 trillion in AI deals, could lead to a market contagion because so much of the AI industry’s growth prospects are tied to the ChatGPT creator.

“The truth is, we’re at the dawn of a new technology shift and it’s really hard to know the sustainability of top line,” Michael Nathanson, co-founder of equity research firm MoffettNathanson, told CNBC. “We’re entering new times and predicting the top line has gotten a lot harder. There’s a ton of surprising going on.”

— CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa, Jordan Novet, Annie Palmer and Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report.

Fourth Quarter Results

• Fourth quarter production averaged a record 408,382 boe ⁽¹⁾ per day (58 per cent natural gas and 42 per cent crude oil and liquids ⁽²⁾ ), which included 118,898 barrels per day of crude oil and condensate production, the highest in ARC’s 30-year history. Production per share ⁽³⁾ increased 10 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.
• ARC generated funds from operations of $874 million ⁽⁴⁾ ($1.52 per share ⁽⁴⁾ ) and cash flow from operating activities of $668 million ($1.16 per share ⁽⁴⁾ ).
  • ARC realized an average natural gas price of $3.77 per Mcf ⁽⁴⁾ , which is $1.43 greater than the average AECO 7A Monthly Index price.
• Free funds flow was $415 million ⁽⁴⁾ ($0.72 per share ⁽⁴⁾ ), and net income was $260 million or $0.45 per share. ARC distributed $257 million ($0.45 per share) to shareholders through the base dividend and share repurchases, and allocated the remainder to debt reduction.
  • ARC declared dividends of $120 million ($0.21 per share ⁽⁴⁾ ) and repurchased 5.1 million common shares for $137 million under its normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”).
• ARC invested $459 million in capital expenditures ⁽⁴⁾ during the fourth quarter, which contributed to total capital expenditures of $1.9 billion in 2025, which was within Company guidance.
• Subsequent to December 31, 2025, ARC executed an agreement to purchase assets in the Kakwa area of Alberta for approximately $160 million. The transaction is expected to close in February 2026.
• Net debt ⁽⁴⁾ decreased by $191 million compared to the third quarter of 2025. As at December 31, 2025, net debt was $2.9 billion or 0.9 times funds from operations ⁽⁴⁾ .

Year-end 2025 Highlight

• ARC generated record annual average production of 374,336 boe per day (59 per cent natural gas and 41 per cent crude oil and liquids), an increase of 10 per cent per share compared to 2024.
• ARC recognized funds from operations of $3.2 billion ($5.48 per share), and generated free funds flow of $1.3 billion ($2.20 per share) in 2025.
  • ARC distributed 75 per cent of free funds flow to shareholders through its base dividend and share repurchases. The remainder was allocated to debt reduction, allowing ARC to further strengthen its balance sheet.
  • ARC increased its base dividend for the fifth consecutive year. ARC’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) approved an 11 per cent increase to the quarterly dividend, from $0.19 to $0.21 per share ($0.84 per share, per annum).
• ARC’s annual average realized natural gas price of $3.51 per Mcf was 89 per cent or $1.65 per Mcf greater than the average AECO 7A Monthly Index price. This marks the 13th consecutive year that ARC’s market diversification strategy resulted in a realized natural gas price that exceeded AECO by 20 per cent or greater.
  • Natural gas curtailments at Sunrise due to low natural gas prices during the third and fourth quarters of 2025 reduced full-year average production by approximately 12,000 boe per day (approximately 70 MMcf per day). The curtailments preserved resource for periods when prices were higher, and allowed ARC to defer approximately $50 million of capital.
• In July 2025, ARC completed the acquisition of condensate-rich Montney assets in the Kakwa area of Alberta from Strathcona Resources Ltd. in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.6 billion ⁽⁵⁾ (the “Kakwa Acquisition”).
• ARC executed an agreement for the earning and development of up to 36 new contiguous sections in the Montney with the Tsaa Dunne Za Energy Limited Partnership – a limited partnership owned by Halfway River First Nation.
• In March 2025, ARC announced a long-term sale and purchase agreement with ExxonMobil LNG Asia Pacific (“EMLAP”), an ExxonMobil affiliate, for the supply of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”). Under the agreement, EMLAP will purchase ARC’s LNG offtake from the Cedar LNG Project, approximately 1.5 million tonnes per annum at international pricing. The agreement commences with commercial operations at the Cedar LNG Facility, expected in late 2028.

2025 Reserves ⁽¹⁾⁽⁶⁾

https://www.barchart.com/story/news/58667/arc-resources-ltd-reports-year-end-2025-results-and-reserves

1) TSX Tech vs. U.S. Tech — Objective Comparison

A. Market Size & Weight

• U.S. Tech: Dominates global markets; tech often accounts for ~25–35% of total market cap of the S&P 500 and NASDAQ indexes.
• TSX Tech: Represents a much smaller portion of the Canadian market. Even broad Canadian tech ETFs list only ~25–30 names with key exposure concentrated in a handful of companies. The sector weight is much lighter relative to the entire index.

Implication: U.S. tech has a greater overall influence on index performance and global innovation trends.

---

B. Business Models & Profitability

• U.S. Tech Leaders: Often platform-driven, with strong network effects (e.g., cloud computing, AI, operating systems).
• TSX Tech: More focused on enterprise software, services, supply-chain tech, and niche technology solutions. Recurring revenue is common, but global network effects are generally weaker.

Profitability:

• Many U.S. tech giants have high margins, global moats, and strong cash flow.
• TSX tech firms often focus on software services or specialized solutions where scale and global reach are more limited.

---

C. Valuation Profiles

Tech valuations depend heavily on earnings growth expectations:

• U.S. Tech: Large names like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft trade at high multiples due to growth and strong earnings power, though some valuation compression has occurred in 2025 as investors scrutinize growth assumptions.
• TSX Tech: Valuations tend to be more modest than U.S. big-tech averages. For example, industry PE ratios indicate optimism in Canada but still remain below speculative highs.

Overall:

• U.S. tech valuations reflect global leadership and future growth premia.
• TSX valuations reflect smaller market scale and closer ties to Canadian revenue drivers.

---

D. Growth vs. Stability

Feature	TSX Tech	U.S. Tech
Revenue Growth	Moderate	Strong to explosive
Volatility	Medium–High	High
Profit Margins	Moderate	Higher
Global Exposure	Lower	Very high
Influence on Broad Market	Limited	Major driver

Conclusion:
U.S. tech stocks tend to be growth engines with global scale, whereas TSX tech stocks are smaller-cap, niche performers — often profitable services firms but with more muted growth outlooks compared to U.S. counterparts.

---

2) Rank: TSX Tech Stocks by Quality vs. Valuation

This ranking reflects quality metrics (e.g., profitability, recurring revenue, moat) relative to valuation multiples (e.g., P/E, forward earnings) — a framework analysts use to compare stocks.

Note: Actual multiples can vary over time; current snapshot comes from commonly cited data (e.g., company filings, industry trackers). Numbers are illustrative rather than exact.

---

A. High Quality / Better Valuation

1. Constellation Software
   • Quality: Global SaaS/IT services with strong recurring revenues
   • Valuation: Relatively rich but supported by long runway and profitability
   • Analyst View: Best risk-adjusted quality among TSX tech
2. Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO)
   • Quality: Established logistics software, consistent EBITDA growth
   • Valuation: ~28× forward earnings (reasonable given growth)
   • Growth: Analysts expect ~20%+ EPS growth in coming years
3. Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO)
   • Quality: One of Canada’s most recognized tech exports
   • Valuation: High multiples due to growth expectations
   • Risk: Growth is strong, but valuation premium is significant

---

B. Mid Quality / Mid Valuation

4. Topicus.com Inc. (TOI.TO)
   • Quality: Vertical software acquirer strategy
   • Valuation: High P/E but revenue growth narrative intact
5. Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO)
   • Quality: Hardware & supply-chain exposure, AI infrastructure growth story
   • Valuation: Mid-range multiples tied to end-market strength
6. TECSYS Inc. (TCS.TO)
   • Quality: More niche enterprise software
   • Valuation: Extremely high P/E (reflects low earnings base and growth expectation)

---

C. Lower Quality / Mixed Valuation

7. Telesat Corporation (TSAT.TO)
   • Quality: Satellite tech exposure; cyclical nature and cap intensity
   • Valuation: Lower P/E but riskier cash flows
8. Smaller TSX/TSXV tech names
   • Many smaller Canadian tech names have limited earnings history and higher volatility.

---

Objective Summary Table

Rank	Company	Quality	Valuation	Notes
1	Constellation Software	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Premium	Strong profit + recurring
2	Descartes	⭐⭐⭐☆	Fair	Solid growth + reasonable
3	Shopify	⭐⭐⭐☆	Rich	High growth, rich valuation
4	Topicus	⭐⭐☆	Rich	Good niche, high multiple
5	Celestica	⭐⭐☆	Mid	Hardware exposure
6	TECSYS	⭐⭐	Very Rich	Small base, high PE
7	Telesat	⭐☆	Low/Value	Riskier earnings

---

What This Tells Us (Neutral Conclusion)

✔ U.S. tech stocks generally offer higher growth potential and stronger global moats, reflected in higher valuations and larger market caps.
✔ TSX tech stocks offer more modest valuations and diversified income profiles, but with less embedded growth premium compared to U.S. tech.
✔ Quality vs. valuation ranking helps identify which TSX tech names offer better risk-adjusted fundamentals rather than pure growth narratives.