With a decline of 23%, this dividend stock is a great buy for the long term

A dividend stock can become a great decades-long hold after a big drop because you can get paid to wait. While the company is going through a difficult period. The key strategy is simple: the dividend must come from real, repeatable cash flow, and the balance sheet must deal with stress without forcing a cut. A falling share price can also reset expectations, leading to stronger long-term returns if the company continues to grow and finance the payout. Still, you need patience, because cheap stocks can remain cheap when profits fluctuate or debt becomes too high. So let’s take a look at one solid choice.

GSY

easy (TSX:GSY) runs a simple business with a not-so-simple customer. It lends to Canadians in the near-prime to non-prime range, mostly through easyfinancial, plus easyhome and LendCare for other financing needs. It reaches customers through online channels, more than 400 locations and a large network of trading partners. That model gives the company two levers at the same time: it can grow by adding customers, and it can grow by expanding the loan portfolio per customer.

The market story of the dividend stock is that it has turned sharply. In September 2021, interest rates hit an all-time high of around $218, but then fell as rates rose and investors became more concerned about consumer credit. More recently, trading has been in a wide range over the past year, with shares down around 22% over this period.

That decline also tells you what the market is afraid of. goeasy lives and dies by the health of the Canadian consumer, and recent years have forced many households to push their limits. When investors smell rising delinquencies, they often sell first and ask questions later. The downside is that goeasy has long profitability and a long dividend record, so the company hasn’t fallen apart just because the stock price has.

In income

Now the numbers that matter. In the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, goeasy grew its consumer loan portfolio to $5.4 billion, up 24% year-over-year, and achieved record revenue of $440 million, up 15%. It also reported a net depreciation rate of 8.9%, down 30 basis points from the prior year quarter. These are solid numbers because they show growth without major losses.

The profits looked messy at first glance, and you have to understand why. goeasy posted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.98 versus $4.88 a year earlier, but pointed to a non-cash change in fair value of $43.1 million, tied to early redemption options on notes payable, as a big hit. It also reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of $4.12, down 5% from $4.32. In short, the business remained profitable, but accounting noise and a more difficult credit situation dragged down the reported results.

Valuation helps explain why some investors start circling after a decline like this. Recent market data shows it easily trading around a single-digit price-to-earnings ratio of 9.8, alongside a dividend yield of around 4.3% with an annual dividend figure of almost $5.84. In terms of prospects, goeasy highlighted its financing capacity and talked about the ability to continue growing its loan portfolio, and approved a quarterly dividend of $1.46 per share. The risk remains real, however, as a recession or a sharper rise in delinquencies could quickly crush sentiment, and regulators can always tighten the screws on consumer lending.

In short

So why consider goeasy as a buy-and-hold “forever” pick when the price is well below all-time highs? You get a real dividend, you get a company that is still growing its loan portfolio, and you get a valuation that already carries a lot of fear. And right now, that dividend can produce high incomes starting at just $7,000.

COMPANY	RECENT PRICE	NUMBER OF SHARES	DIVIDEND	ANNUAL TOTAL PAYOUT	FREQUENCY	TOTAL INVESTMENT
GSY	$135.91	51	$5.84	$297.84	Quarterly	$6,931.41

goeasy may reward patience if Canadian consumer stress decreases and credit losses remain limited. But you can’t treat it like a sleepy utility. If you want a dividend stock that you never check, this will annoy you. If you can handle swings and focus on the long game, it can earn a place in a portfolio that will last for decades.