1 Great Canadian Dividend Stock Down 9% to Buy and Hold for Decades

While no one likes market declines, they usually provide the best opportunities for long-term investors. Sometimes a fundamentally strong stock declines simply because the sector as a whole is going through a slow period. That doesn’t always mean that the company itself is broken.

For patient foolish investors, that gap between price and performance can be a real opportunity. The trick is to focus on companies with strong balance sheets, experienced management teams and a history of generating stable cash flow in both good and bad times.

That’s why TFI International (TSX:TFII) is looking interesting right now. Despite the broader market rally, TFI shares are down about 9% over the past year. Still, the company continues to generate solid free cash flow, grow its dividend and expand its business. But is this Canadian stock worth considering amid this pullback? Let’s find out.

TFI International stock

If you don’t already know, TFI International is a Canadian transportation and logistics company operating in Canada, the United States and Mexico. This Saint-Laurent-based company operates three major business segments: less-than-truckload, truckload and logistics. It handles everything from smaller freight shipments to full truckloads, along with brokerage and logistics services.

At the time of writing, TFI shares are trading at $168.16 each, giving the company a market capitalization of $13.8 billion. The stock also currently offers a dividend yield of 1.6%, paid quarterly. The recent share price decline appears to have more to do with normal freight cycles than any deeper business problem.

A delay, but not a failure

In the third quarter of 2025, TFI’s total turnover fell 10% YoY (YoY) to $1.97 billion. Operating profit also fell 21% year-over-year to $153.3 million.

At first glance, these financial results may seem disappointing. But for a transport company, cash flow often tells a more important story. And that was the encouraging part of the company’s latest earnings report, as free cash flow for the quarter was $199.4 million. Even in a weaker freight environment, generating nearly $200 million in free cash flow says a lot about how efficiently TFI’s business is run.

Even amid ongoing challenges, the company continues to adapt its operations to protect margins and position itself for the next freight upcycle.

Still rewarding shareholders

Even as freight conditions have softened, TFI has not backed away from rewarding investors. In the third quarter alone, the company returned $104.8 million to shareholders, including $37.3 million in dividends and $67.4 million in share repurchases.

A 4% increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.47 per share was also approved. Increasing the dividend during a cyclical slowdown shows that TFI is confident in its ability to generate cash flows in the long term.

And we can’t forget the fact that, despite the recent weakness, TFI shares are up more than 750% over the past decade.

Why it could continue to worsen

Transport is a cyclical sector. Freight demand rises and falls with the economy. But it never goes away. Goods still need to move across North America, supply chains continue to evolve, and companies rely heavily on efficient logistics partners.

Thanks to TFI’s broad platform and geographical reach, TFI can withstand these ups and downs. The mix of asset-rich and asset-light operations gives the company the flexibility to adjust capacity, control costs and make acquisitions when competitors are struggling. That’s one of the main reasons why I believe TFI stock still has great upside potential for long-term investors.