But unless you’re overweight banking, mining or AI-related stocks, your portfolio may have underperformed the Index by a significant margin. Parts of the market that have performed better in the past (such as software, insurance and industrial services) are showing double digit growth.
It offers opportunities if you don’t mind being a contrarian. Here are three stocks that are beaten now, but I’d buy them for 2026 and long beyond.
A top Canadian compounder who will run into problems in 2025
Constellation software (TSX:CSU) is down 26% so far in 2025. This is one of the worst declines ever. Even after the pullback, it’s still one of the best-performing stocks in Canada over the past fifteen years.
The stock has fallen on fears of AI threats, the retirement of its longtime CEO and the possibility that capital deployment will slow. Constellation makes its living by acquiring small, niche, specialized software vendors.
Although Constellation’s earnings results have been good since the beginning of the year, the market is not satisfied. But now that the stock has fallen, the valuation is starting to look quite attractive. The lower price provides a margin of error for longer-term investors.
Although AI is a threat, it also offers opportunities. Constellation can use it as a tool to increase margins and improve software services for customers. You have to be contrarian, but if this stock were to pull back even further, it would be a great buy.
A real estate share for long-term returns
Speaking of compilers, Colliers International (TSX:CIGI) is interesting. The stock is even up 10% this year. However, since the publication of last week’s earnings figures, the share price has fallen by 5%.
Colliers is best known for its global commercial real estate brand. Yet it is becoming a substantial player in investment management and engineering. As it integrates and consolidates these businesses, it has some near-term margin impacts. This may take a few quarters. The market didn’t like that very much.
If you can look past that, the company has had great results this year. Through the first nine months, revenue rose 19% to $3.95 billion, and adjusted earnings per share rose 23% to $4.24.
2026 promises to be a strong year in which recent acquisitions should ensure strong profit growth. The company still has plenty of room to acquire more companies. The company has had average annual returns for teens for more than two decades. It is likely that it will continue to deliver the same for years to come.
A software share with great opportunities in 2026
Another stock I’d like to buy when it gets cheaper is VitalHub (TSX:VHI). The stock is down 6.5% this year. The weak performance is a bit misleading. For the first nine months of the year, revenues increased 62% to $77.5 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 49% to $19.1 million.
VitalHub is gaining strong momentum as a critical healthcare software provider in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Recent larger acquisitions give the company geographic scale and new tools to help its customers everywhere.
This stock has a strong, cash-rich balance sheet of nearly $120 million. It is in a strong position to aggressively deploy that money for growth in 2026 and beyond.
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