Canada Post, union to meet Wednesday as strike looms
Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton says the company will meet with the union representing Canada Post workers this week, as a Friday strike looms. The union says it will pause the potential strike if the corporation makes an offer before then. CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant tells Power & Politics the union would take two weeks to look over the offer.
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Globe and Mail
35 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Prediction: These Are Wall Street's Next 2 Trillion-Dollar Stocks -- and Neither Is Palantir Technologies
Over the last century, no asset class has come remotely close to matching the annual return of stocks. Spanning multidecade periods, it's commonplace to see the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite pushing to all-time highs. But something that's been exceptionally rare on Wall Street is seeing a publicly traded company hit a nominal market cap of $1 trillion. Only 11 public companies, 10 of which trade in the U.S., have ever achieved this psychologically important valuation: Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Microsoft Nvidia Apple Amazon Alphabet Meta Platforms Broadcom Berkshire Hathaway Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Tesla Saudi Aramco (not traded in the U.S.) The trillion-dollar question is: Which companies are next to join this exclusive and elite club? While game-changing technology stocks have been the correct answer in recent years, and quite a few investors might side with artificial intelligence (AI) -driven colossus Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) as the logical choice, two non-tech stocks appear ideally positioned to join this group of 11 elite businesses sooner than later. Sorry, Palantir, it's not you! Since the end of 2022, shares of Palantir have returned nearly 1,900%, which has lifted the company's market cap to north of $300 billion. In other words, Palantir went from being a tech stock of fringe importance to being one of the foundational companies within the sector. Palantir's claim to fame is its AI- and machine learning-powered Gotham and Foundry platforms. The former assists federal governments with data collection and analysis, as well as aids with military mission planning and execution. Meanwhile, Foundry is a subscription-based service for businesses that helps them make sense of their data and streamline their operations. Neither of Palantir's operating segments has large-scale direct competitors, which is a fancy way of saying it has a sustainable moat. It also doesn't hurt having the U.S. government as a top client. The multiyear contracts Gotham has landed with the U.S. government have decisively pushed the company into the recurring profit column and made its cash flow quite predictable. However, Palantir has a valuation problem it's unable to escape. For more than 30 years, megacap companies on the leading edge of next-big-thing innovations (e.g., artificial intelligence) have endured an eventual bubble-bursting event early in their expansion phase. If an AI bubble were to form and burst, Palantir's multiyear government contracts and enterprise subscriptions via Foundry would keep its sales from immediately plummeting. But it wouldn't mask the company's nosebleed trailing-12-month (TTM) price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 102. Previous bubble-bursting events saw market leaders of highly touted trends peak at TTM P/S ratios of roughly 30 to 40. Even if Palantir's sales grew by 30% annually for four consecutive years and its shares stayed exactly where they closed on June 6, its P/S ratio would be 37! No megacap company has been able to sustain a P/S ratio this high over the long run, let alone a triple-digit P/S ratio. In short, Palantir isn't Wall Street's next trillion-dollar stock. But the following two brand-name, non-tech stocks are ideally positioned to join the club. Visa: Current market cap of $709 billion As of this writing after the closing bell on June 6, there are eight publicly traded U.S. stocks hovering between a market cap of $450 billion and $780 billion. None is more capable of sustaining double-digit earnings and sales growth over the next five to 10 years than payment processor Visa (NYSE: V), which is about $291 billion away from becoming a trillion-dollar company. To state the obvious, Visa benefits immensely from being cyclical. Even though economic slowdowns and recessions are normal, healthy, and inevitable, the average recession since the end of World War II has resolved in just 10 months. In comparison, the average period of economic growth has lasted about five years over the same eight-decade span. This is plenty of time for consumer and business spending to expand, and for Visa to benefit from it. Visa's position as the domestic payment facilitator of choice is secure. In 2024, it accounted for almost $6.45 trillion in credit card network purchase volume in the U.S., which was nearly $2.4 trillion more than the second- through fourth-largest payment facilitators, combined. More importantly, there's a longtail opportunity for Visa to organically or acquisitively push into chronically underbanked international markets. Its quarterly operating results consistently point to double-digit percentage growth in cross-border payment volume. Furthermore, Visa doesn't have to worry about recessions as much as other financial stocks since it's not a lender. By staying focused on payment facilitation, it's not required to set aside capital to cover potential credit delinquencies and loan losses. The end result is Visa bouncing back from economic slowdowns and recessions considerably faster than most lending institutions. While Visa stock isn't cheap, its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 29 is effectively in-line with its average forward P/E ratio over the trailing-five-year period. A sustained double-digit sales and earnings growth rate can push Visa's valuation to the trillion-dollar mark within the next two years. Walmart: Current market cap of $780 billion The other business that's a logical choice to reach a trillion-dollar valuation well before any other tech stocks is retail powerhouse Walmart (NYSE: WMT). A 28% gain from where the company's stock closed on June 6 would put it among elite company. Similar to Visa, Walmart is a clear beneficiary of the nonlinearity of economic cycles. Lengthy periods of economic growth encourage consumers and businesses to spend. But there is a notable difference between Visa and Walmart. Whereas Visa is adversely impacted by recessions in the form of lower consumer and business spending, Walmart tends to thrive because it sells basic need goods (food, cleaning products, and toiletries, for example). Walmart is going to bring in foot traffic in any economic climate, and its low-cost focus becomes especially meaningful during trying and/or uncertain times. Though it may not sell as much in the way of high-margin discretionary items during recessions, Walmart doesn't struggle to bring shoppers through its doors. One of the company-specific reasons for Walmart's sustained success is its size. Though bigger isn't always better in the business world, Walmart's size and deep pockets allow the company to purchase products in bulk. Buying more of a good at one time usually lowers the per-unit cost. Walmart then passes along these savings to its customers and undercuts the local competition on price. Walmart is also having phenomenal success with its omnichannel sales expansion. Though its brick-and-mortar locations are performing well, the growth story of late has been all about online sales and Walmart+ memberships. During the fiscal first quarter (ended April 30, 2025), Walmart generated a 21% increase in domestic U.S. e-commerce sales, as well as delivered its first profitable quarter from U.S. e-commerce. Further, high-margin global fee income tied to Walmart+ memberships jumped by nearly 15% from the prior-year period. The one issue for Walmart stock is that it's historically expensive. Its shares are tipping the scales at a forward P/E of 33, which represents a 34% premium to its five-year average. However, persistent uncertainty tied to President Donald Trump's tariff and trade policy might be catalyst that helps Walmart sustain its multiple expansion for the foreseeable future. Should you invest $1,000 in Visa right now? Before you buy stock in Visa, 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 Visa 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 $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to173%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. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Visa. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Tesla, Visa, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Globe and Mail
4 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Meta Is Making a Big Bold Investment of Over $10B in Scale AI
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Toronto Star
4 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Canada Post, union trade shots Monday as progress stalls
After talks last week aimed at paving the way for binding arbitration, Canada Post and the union representing its 55,000 employees were back trading public potshots Monday, with both sides accusing the other of not negotiating seriously. Monday afternoon, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) blasted the Crown corporation, saying it was counting on government action to force an end to the dispute. 'CUPW's ultimate goal in returning to the bargaining table remains new negotiated ratifiable collective agreements,' CUPW said in a written statement. 'However, Canada Post's actions suggest it does not want to negotiate. It wants to rewrite our agreements — and is seeking to use government interference to further its goals.' The union pointed to Canada Post's request to federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu late last month to order a vote on its 'final' contract offer, as well as then-federal labour minister Steven MacKinnon's decision last December to 'pause' a 32-day strike by creating an Industrial Inquiry Commission run by veteran arbitrator William Kaplan. 'The historic rights and benefits our union has gained for our members — and for Canadian society — such as maternity leave have been won through our collective bargaining rights,' CUPW added. 'The attempt to trample over them should send a chill through the labour movement. CUPW will be standing against a forced vote — and for collective bargaining rights.' In a written statement Monday, Canada Post said two days of talks last week to set the terms for arbitration didn't result in any progress. The Crown corporation also said the union still hadn't provided an official response to its final offer. It also suggested Kaplan's report should be part of the terms of reference for any arbitration. 'The final report of the Industrial Inquiry Commission clearly outlines the critical issues we face and the immediate actions that need to be taken. It should therefore be the foundational document that guides any discussions about Canada Post's path forward. The union's refusal to recognize the IIC report and its recommendations in their proposed terms of reference for arbitration is unacceptable,' Canada Post said. 'After 18 months we urgently need a fair resolution that begins to address our challenges while respecting the important role our employees play, and the voice they have in our future.' A spokesperson for Hajdu said the minister was still reviewing Canada Post's request for a vote on the 'final offer,' and urged the two sides to get back to the bargaining table. 'Last week Minister Hajdu asked the parties to return to the negotiating table with federal mediators to do two things: to seek to negotiate terms for an arbitration process to conclude this round of bargaining, and to have the union table its response to Canada Post's last global offers,' said Hajdu spokesperson Jennifer Kozelj. 'Canadians expect the parties to resolve this dispute. Both parties must meet and pursue these paths with urgency.' Labour experts say it's unclear exactly how the impasse can be resolved. Both sides, suggested University of Toronto professor Rafael Gomez, could be waiting for clearer signals from the federal government on whether it will act on Kaplan's recommendations. 'If the government hems and haws, then of course the parties aren't going to negotiate strongly,' said Gomez, director of U of T's Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources. 'If they said 'here's what we're doing about the report. We're implementing everything Kaplan has said,' that would move the needle.' While a full-blown strike might be another option for the union to try and force the issue, it's not clear if it would work, argued Stephanie Ross, a labour studies professor at McMaster University. The union doesn't have nearly as much leverage as it did last winter, Ross said, because it's not nearly as busy a time of year for parcels, but also because Kaplan's report was largely in line with the Crown corporation's arguments for restructuring. 'It's not clear how much pressure a walkout is going to put on the employer right now,' Ross said. Earlier this month, Canada Post rejected the union's request for binding arbitration, saying it would take too long, and could exacerbate their financial struggles. On May 28, Canada Post made what it called its 'final' contract offer, which includes a 13 per cent wage increase spread over four years, as well as a $1,000 signing bonus. Two days later, it asked Hajdu to order a vote on the offer, a request blasted by CUPW.
