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We recently celebrated Canada Day, which also means 2026 is half done. And what a peculiar year in the markets it’s been to this point.
Market action in 2026 has been, let’s call it, narrow. Though U.S.-centric, the following drives home the point:
Year to date, as of late June, there were 23 companies in the S&P 500 that had increased by more than 100%. This is by far the highest number in the past 40 years. These stocks have contributed roughly 6% of the 8% gain achieved by the S&P 500 in 2026.
The S&P 500 is full of some of the biggest companies in the world. These are not the kinds of companies that typically double in value over the course of six months. Heck, there’s no such thing as a “type” of company that doubles in value over the course of six months. To do so, regardless of company size, speculation is the primary, if not the only, driver. The last time a surge like this was experienced was in 1999. Fools, that didn’t end well.
History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes. And this month’s collection of the best stocks to buy now was very much put together with this dynamic in mind.
Enjoy!
Foolishly yours,Iain ButlerAdvisor, Stock Advisor Canada
Best Buys Now #1
TMX Group (TSX: X)
The windows to buy TMX Group (TSX: X) at a good price are few and far between, given the consistent nature of its performance. But today, although the company continues to perform, the stock has rolled over. For … #reasons? This leaves us with a rare moment when a window has been left open.
For the uninitiated, TMX Group is Canada’s financial market infrastructure company. It owns and operates the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, Montréal Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange, and a growing suite of global data, analytics, and energy trading businesses. It is the kind of company that underpins the Canadian capital markets system so foundationally that most investors take it for granted. It’s this structural indispensability that makes TMX Group such a compelling long-term holding.
And TMX’s ambitions stretch beyond our borders. In April, the company announced an agreement to buy Cboe Australia and Cboe Canada from Cboe Global Markets for US$300 million. The acquisitions will allow TMX to serve clients across capital markets and deepen its derivatives and equity market capabilities. Management is clearly willing to invest aggressively to consolidate market infrastructure: Earlier in 2026, the acquisition of RAFI Indices for $490 million tripled TMX’s assets under indexing and sped up its growth in fundamental index strategies — further building out the high-margin, recurring Global Insights division.
All of this adds to TMX’s core business model, which is one of the most enviable in Canadian finance: It collects a small fee on almost every trade, listing, clearing, and data transaction that flows through the Canadian capital markets ecosystem. The Global Insights division, which includes TMX VettaFi (ETF data and analytics), TMX Trayport (European energy trading), and now RAFI Indices, is a growth engine being built on top of the core infrastructure business. Both VettaFi and Trayport delivered double-digit revenue growth in 2025 and have continued that trajectory into 2026. These are subscription-based, data-driven businesses with high switching costs and global client bases. It’s precisely the kind of recurring revenue that commands premium valuation multiples and diversifies TMX well beyond its Canadian exchange roots.
What’s limited the windows of investing opportunity has been valuation. Right now, though, thanks to “#reasons,” TMX’s multiples are about as palatable as they get. Not absolutely cheap, but entirely fair relative to historical levels.
Bottom line: TMX Group is a great company going for a fair price. If you’re interested in owning a durable Canadian compounder with growing global ambitions, it deserves a serious look.
