Author: Consultant

Here’s a summary of the most recent earnings report for Aritzia Inc. (TSX: ATZ.TO),

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🧾 Q3 Fiscal 2025 Highlights

• Net revenue: C$728.7 million, up ~11.5% YoY.
• Comparable sales growth: ~6.6% for the quarter.
• Gross profit margin: 45.8% vs 41.5% a year earlier (an expansion of ~430 bps).
• Adjusted EBITDA: C$136.4 million, representing 18.7% of net revenue (up from 14.0% last year).
• Net income: C$74.1 million (10.2% of revenue) compared to C$43.1 million last year.
• Adjusted Net Income: C$83.0 million, or 11.4% of revenue (vs ~8.1% last year). i

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📍 Key Strategic & Operational Notes

• The U.S. business is growing strongly: U.S. net revenue increased ~23.6% (to about C$403.7 million) for the quarter.
• In Canada, revenue was essentially flat (C$325.0 million vs C$326.9 million) for the quarter.
• Margin expansion was driven by improvements in initial mark-up (IMU), fewer markdowns, lower warehousing costs, and “smart spending” initiatives. invest
• The company made substantial capital investments: Q3 capital cash expenditures (net of lease incentives) were C$81.9 million.

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✅ What this means for dividend/growth investors

• The double-digit revenue growth, strong margin improvement, and growth in the U.S. market suggest Aritzia is executing well in its growth phase.
• The margin expansion is a positive sign — it indicates operating leverage is working and the business is not just growing revenue but becoming more profitable per dollar of revenue.
• For dividend growth purposes: while the report shows healthy profits, investors should check the company’s dividend policy (historical payout ratio, free cash flow coverage, and reinvestment needs) to assess sustainability.
• The heavy capex and U.S. expansion mean the company may be reinvesting aggressively — something to consider for how much free cash might be available for dividends or share buybacks.

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⚠️ Some risks / points to monitor

• Growth in Canada is weak/stagnant — the company appears more reliant on U.S. growth.
• Retail apparel is a competitive and cyclical business subject to consumer sentiment, fashion trends, macroeconomic pressures (inflation, tariffs, supply chain).
• While margins improved this quarter, high capex and operating costs (digital marketing, new boutiques) reduce free cash flow in the near term.
• For dividend investors: check how free cash flow is trending (not just net income) — capex and working-capital needs can influence how much cash is truly available to pay and grow dividends.

• Nvidia’s Blackwell systems sales are “off the charts” according to CEO Jensen Huang, but analysts see fast growth for custom AI chips, known as ASICs.
• These smaller, cheaper, more narrowly focused AI chips are being designed in-house by Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI
• Google’s TPUs are the leader in ASICs for AI, and some people think those chips are technically on par or even superior to Nvidia’s GPUs, “Chip War” author Chris Miller told CNBC.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/21/nvidia-gpus-google-tpus-aws-trainium-comparing-the-top-ai-chips.html

Canada Post lost more than half-a-billion dollars in the third quarter of 2025 and says it needs short-term financing to stay afloat as it contends with a heated labour dispute that has lasted for almost two years.

This is the postal service’s largest quarterly loss in history.

Canada Post reported a loss before tax of $541-million for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2025, bringing its total losses in 2025 to $989-million. The Crown corporation blamed labour uncertainty for its poor financial results, noting that nearly all its year-to-date losses were incurred in the second and third quarters.

Explainer: The latest news on the Canada Post strike

Canada Post expects to lose 30,000 jobs to retirement, voluntary departures by 2035

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers began labour action in May of 2025, with a ban on overtime work for all 55,000 of its members. In mid-September, the union instructed all its members to cease delivering unaddressed flyers.

But then on Sept. 25, after an announcement from the federal Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound about restructuring Canada Post (with proposals that included ending door-to-door delivery and closing post offices), CUPW announced a nationwide strike that lasted for two weeks. They soon switched to rotating strikes, which are still continuing.

In a Friday press release, Canada Post said a big driver of losses was the dramatic decline in revenue from its parcel delivery business, which plunged 40 per cent in the third quarter compared with the same period a year prior. Parcel volume declined by 27 million pieces, while parcel revenue fell by $297-million.

The corporation said it has lost customers to other delivery competitors because of the unpredictability stemming from the labour dispute.

In the wake of a decline in letter mail over the past decade, Canada Post became increasingly reliant on revenue from the delivery of parcels to sustain its business.

But the growth of same-day private delivery couriers like Amazon and Dragonfly, which boomed in popularity during the pandemic, chipped away at Canada’s Post’s market share in parcels, leaving the corporation struggling to break even. Since 2018, Canada Post has accumulated more than $5-billion in losses.

Two months ago, Mr. Lightbound and the federal government – the sole shareholder of Canada Post – proposed a drastic revamp of the postal service, which sparked the ire of the union because it was still in negotiations with Canada Post about a new contract.

CUPW said it was blindsided by the government’s proposals to close post offices and end door-to-door delivery across the country – actions that would result in significant job cuts.

But Ottawa argues that it cannot keep bailing out Canada Post and that it will have to significantly change how it operates in order to become sustainable.

In January, the government loaned $1.034-billion to Canada Post to help repay bondholders whose investments were maturing in July this year. The corporation said on Friday that it expects to fully utilize the $1-billion by Dec. 31, and will need access to short-term financing in order to maintain solvency and support operations over the next 12 months.

Earlier this month, Canada Post privately submitted a plan to the federal government to streamline the postal service, which includes converting remaining home delivery to community mailboxes and modernizing its national retail network to better reflect where Canadians live (many post offices in more formerly rural, now suburban parts of the country, have a low utility rate).

At the Crown corporation’s annual meeting this week, CEO Doug Ettinger said Canada Post will have to downsize its work force as part of the overhaul. Several dozen managers were laid off at the end of October, as part of the restructuring.

In a statement this week, CUPW was heavily critical of Mr. Ettinger’s restructuring plan, noting that job loss from work-force cuts would be “catastrophic” to many small communities where working in the post office remains one of few good jobs. The union also said Mr. Ettinger was deliberately keeping Canadians and union members in the dark by not making public its restructuring plan that was submitted to Ottawa.

The union has long argued that Canada Post can turn around its financial situation in other ways besides cutting labour costs. Stamp-price increases and a return to stable parcel volumes, according to the union, would result “in a near break-even financial bottom line.”

“In fact, the cuts will cost billions of dollars to implement, when instead that money could be spent on expanding services and generating new forms of revenue,” the union said.

Negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW are continuing, supported by federal mediators. The union has, so far, made no mention of another nationwide strike like the one that took place in the lead-up to last year’s holiday season.

Note: Many U.S. economic relays may be delayed while the federal government reopens

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Monday November 17

Japan real GDP and industrial production

(5 a.m. ET) Canadian existing home sales and average prices. The Street is expecting year-over-year declines of 6.0 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.

(5 a.m. ET) Canada’s MLS Home Price Index for October. Estimate is a year-over-year drop of 3.5 per cent.

(8:15 a.m. ET) Canadian housing starts for October.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian CPI for October. The consensus projections are a rise of 0.2 per cent from September and up 2.2 per cent year-over-year.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian international securities transactions for September.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s new motor vehicle sales for September.

Earnings include: Perpetua Resources Corp.; Seabridge Gold Inc.

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Tuesday November 18

(8:15 a.m. ET) U.S. ADP unemployment for November.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s household and mortgage credit for September.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. import prices for October.

(9:15 a.m. ET) U.S. industrial production and capacity utilization for October.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. NAHB Housing Market Index for November.

Earnings include: Almonty Industries Inc.; Baidu Inc.; Home Depot Inc.; Medtronic PLC; Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

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Wednesday November 19

Japan trade deficit and core machine orders

Euro zone CPI

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian construction investment for September.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. housing starts for October.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. building permits for October.

(2 p.m. ET) U.S. Fed minutes from Oct. 28-29 meeting are released.

Earnings include: Deere & Co.; Lowe’s Companies Inc.; Metro Inc.; Nvidia Corp.; Palo Alto Networks Inc.; TJX Companies Inc.

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Thursday November 20

Euro zone consumer confidence

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian industrial product and raw materials price indexes for October.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Nov. 15.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for October.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. quarterly services survey for Q3.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. leading indicator for October.

Earnings include: NetEase Inc.; Intuit Inc.; Walmart Inc.

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Friday November 21

Japan CPI and PMI

Euro zone PMI and negotiated wages

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian retail sales for October. The Street expects a decline of 0.7 per cent from the previous month.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s new housing price index for October. Consensus is a month-over-month decline of 0.2 per cent and year-over-year drop of 1.8 per cent.

(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global PMIs for November.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey for November.

Earnings include: PDD Holdings Inc.

George Weston Ltd. (WNGRF) on Friday reported profit of $346.4 million in its third quarter.

On a per-share basis, the Toronto-based company said it had net income of 89 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 99 cents per share.

The baked goods maker and parent of the conglomerate Loblaw posted revenue of $14.2 billion in the period.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research.

Access a Zacks stock report on WNGRF at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WNGRF

Highlights (quarter ended October 4, 2025)

• Revenue of C$19,395 million, up 4.6% versus the prior year period. Loblaw
  • Excluding the impact of the sale of the Wellwise business (which contributed ~C$27 million in the prior year), the revenue growth was about 4.8%. Loblaw
  • Retail segment sales (food + drug retail) were C$19,082 million, up ~4.5%. Loblaw
    • Food Retail: C$13,588 million, up ~4.8%. Same-store sales +2.0%. Loblaw
    • Drug Retail: C$5,494 million, up ~3.8%. Same-store sales +4.0% (front-store +1.9%; pharmacy & healthcare services +5.9%). Loblaw
  • E-commerce sales rose by 18.0%. Loblaw
• Operating income: C$1,376 million (increase of ~$55 million or ~4.2%). Loblaw
• Adjusted EBITDA: C$2,217 million, up 7.2%. Loblaw
• Net earnings available to common shareholders: C$794 million, up C$17 million or ~2.2%. Loblaw
• Diluted net earnings per share (EPS): C$0.66, up ~4.8% year-over-year. Loblaw
• Adjusted diluted EPS: C$0.69, up ~11.3%. Loblaw
• Capital expenditures (net of disposals): C$682 million; gross capex C$685 million. Loblaw
• Share-buyback: 6.8 million common shares repurchased/cancelled at cost C$381 million in the quarter. Loblaw

Linamar Corp. LNR-T reported $169.2-million in net earnings during the third quarter, up from $138-million during the same period a year earlier.

The company says its earnings amounted to $2.82 per diluted share, up from $2.24 a year earlier.

The Guelph, Ont.-based auto-parts manufacturer says its sales totalled $2.5-billion during the third quarter, down from $2.6-billion during the prior-year quarter.

Linamar says that since it continues to comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement, the majority of its products going into the U.S. are tariff-free.

Linda Hasenfratz, Linamar’s executive chair, says in a press release that in a low-growth environment, the company is being opportunistic to chase acquisitions.

In October, Linamar announced it was expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint through a US$300-million deal to buy select North American assets of Aludyne Inc.

Barrick Mining Corp. raised its quarterly base dividend as it reported a third-quarter profit of US$1.3 billion, up from US$483 million in the same quarter last year. The gold-and-copper miner, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 76 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 28 cents US per diluted share a year ago. Revenue totalled US$4.15 billion, up from US$3.37 billion. On an adjusted basis, Barrick says it earned 58 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 30 cents per share a year ago. Gold production in the quarter totalled 829,000 ounces, down from 943,000 ounces a year ago, while the company’s realized gold price rose to US$3,457 per ounce, up from US$2,494 per ounce a year ago.  Copper production amounted to 55,000 tonnes, up from 48,000 tonnes a year ago, while Barrick’s realized copper price for the quarter was US$4.39 per pound, up from US$4.27 per pound in the same quarter last year. Barrick increased its quarterly base dividend to 12.5 cents US per share from 10 cents US and declared an additional performance dividend for the quarter of five cents US per share for a total payment of 17.5 cents US per share. In September, Barrick appointed Mark Hill to become interim president and CEO following the sudden departure of Mark Bristow from the top job. The company says it is working with an executive search firm to find a permanent president and CEO

Note: U.S. releases could be delayed by the ongoing government shutdown

Monday November 10

China CPI, PPI, aggregate yuan financing and new yuan loans

(10:30 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada’s Market Participants Survey for Q3.

Earnings include: CoreWeave Inc.; InterRent REIT; K92 Mining Inc.; Occidental Petroleum Corp.; Premium Brands Holdings Corp.; Sony ADR

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Tuesday November 11

Canada – Remembrance Day (stock markets open, bond markets closed)

U.S. – Veterans Day (stock markets open, bond markets closed)

Japan bank lending

(6 a.m. ET) U.S. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Survey for October

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. ADP Employment (4-week average change) for October.

Earnings include: Altius Minerals Corp.; Aya Gold and Silver Inc.; CAE Inc.; CCL Industries Inc.; Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund; Extendicare Inc.; Finning International Inc.; Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT; Orla Mining Ltd.; Sea Ltd.; SoftBank Group Corp.

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Wednesday November 12

Japan machine tool orders

Germany CPI

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian building permits for September.

(1:30 p.m. ET) Bank of Canada’s Summary of Deliberations for the Oct. 29 decision.

Earnings include: Birchcliff Energy Ltd.; Birs Construction Inc.; Cisco Systems Inc.; Hudbay Minerals Ltd.; Loblaw Companies Ltd.; Manulife Financial Corp.; Northland Power Corp.; NuVista Energy Ltd.; Pan American Silver Corp.; Power Corp. of Canada; SmartCentres REIT

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Thursday November 13

Euro zone industrial production.

U.K. GDP, services index, industrial and manufacturing production

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Nov. 8.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. CPI for October. The Street expects a rise of 0.2 per cent from September and up 3.1 per cent year-over-year.

(2 p.m. ET) U.S. budget balance for October.

Earnings include: Alibaba ADR; Applied Materials Inc.; Brookfield Corp.; CES Energy Solutions Corp.; Discovery Silver Corp.; Endeavour Mining PLC; H&R REIT; Hydro One Ltd.; Palo Alto Networks Inc.; Peyto Exploration & Development Corp.; Siemens ADR; Skeena Resources Ltd.; Tencent ADR; Stantec Inc.; Walt Disney Co.

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Friday November 14

China retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment

Euro zone GDP and trade surplus

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s manufacturing sales and new orders for September.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian wholesale trade for September.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. retail sales for October.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. PPI for October.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. business inventories for September.

Earnings include: Ag Growth International Inc.; Artis REIT; Keyera Corp.; Montage Gold Corp.; Neo Performance Materials Inc.