Just released: 5 top stocks to buy in October

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Dear fellow Fools,

The third quarter of 2025 is in the books, and North American stock markets have largely provided more fun than not this calendar year, especially for those who haven’t run for the hills in the early months. Uncertainty about rates made for a bumpy start, but as is often the case, the market has shaken off any concerns.

To provide perspective on the existing market environment, Tom Gardner, CEO and co-founder of Motley Fool, has taken the step of providing a quarterly update. Highlights from the most recent edition follow:

• AVOID SPECULATION IN HIGH VALUE MARKETS: Investors should avoid speculative behavior – such as options trading, leveraged margin, buying low-priced stocks under $10, and aggressive betting – especially after markets have had a rapid run-up, such as the S&P 500, which has risen 35% since mid-April. Now is the time to reduce risk, not increase it.
• UNDERSTAND MARKET EUPHORIA AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Current market valuations are at or near historic peaks, with the S&P 500 trading at more than 25 times earnings and NASDAQ companies trading at 6.5 times sales – levels rarely seen in the past 25 years. History shows that these periods often precede increased volatility and lower future returns, so long-term investors should take this into account.
• ADJUST PORTFOLIO RISK TO LIFE CONDITIONS: Investors should tailor their investment stance – cautious, moderate or aggressive – to their financial situation, including income stability, time horizon and emotional tolerance for losses. Those with shorter horizons, income uncertainty or anxiety about credit downturns should lean toward more cautious investments.
• SHIFT TO LOWER RISK AS VALUES RISE: Regardless of current risk profile, long-term individual investors are advised to move one step lower on the risk spectrum given current high market valuations – so aggressive investors move to moderate, moderate to cautious, etc. – to better manage downside risk as markets fall.
• MAINTAIN STOCK EXPOSURE AND FOCUS ON QUALITY: While stocks remain the best long-term asset class, investors should avoid heavy speculative moves and instead focus on companies with strong balance sheets and business stability, keeping a list of high-quality companies to buy during market volatility.

While this may be taken somewhat as a “warning,” I would add that one of the lessons should be that the investment journey is filled with nuances. In addition, it is a very… VERY …personal pursuit. No two life circumstances are the same, and what works for some doesn’t necessarily work for others.

Furthermore, the overlay with Tom’s points that should be front and center at all times is that investing in high quality companies over the long term, ideally at attractive valuations, is a proven route to investment success. Point.

However, ebbs and flows are inevitable. But just as we saw in 2025, being caught off guard or shocked by high tides can be extremely damaging to someone’s financial health.

To be fair, Tom’s somewhat cautionary tone is justified. But caution is always advised when it comes to investing. After all, no one has a crystal ball.

However, it is with this cautionary note in mind that we present to you five sustainable companies that we think are ripe to buy right now – all of which are well suited to what the markets are collectively throwing at us.

Silly of you,
Ian Butler
Advisor, Stock Advisor Canada

I spend most of my days in my home office, searching for information and tapping away at the keyboard. A recent Thursday was not one of those days.

What started as evening plans to attend the Blue Jays/Red Sox live quickly turned into much more when I learned that Brookfield was hosting Toronto Investor Day that same afternoon. So it was a full day in Toronto. I even rode the subway for the first time in years!

The overarching message of the Brookfield event is that the empire is very well positioned to be a big winner if the expected buildout of AI-related infrastructure comes even close to what is currently forecast.

We will emphasize Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX:BIP.UN) here, but as a bonus a similar story can be told Brookfield Renewable Energy Resources (TSX: BEP.UN). The same goes for Brookfield Corporation (TSX:BN), which offers exposure to both.

There is a lot more going on in this situation than just AI, but as it relates specifically to that theme, BIP is very well positioned as a beneficiary of the unprecedented amount of capital that will be thrown towards the digitalization trend. A trend that BIP and other Brookfield affiliates have been following since the last time I attended one of these investor days live several years ago.

While the hyperscalers have the capital, they do not have the resources to actually build out the physical footprint. BIP is one of the few in the world that does have the resources. Currently, the company has seven “AI factories” in development, encompassing six gigawatts of computing capacity and an expected capital deployment of $200 billion. Figures that have room to grow, in the short term, let alone the coming decades.

We hear about it NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA). We hear about it Oracle (NYSE: ORCL). And so on. However, we don’t hear much about the picks that contribute to the AI ​​theme. But as anyone with any knowledge of the California gold rush knows, situations like these are usually where the money is made. BIP and BEP provide that pick-and-shovel exposure to a secular theme still in its very early innings.