There’s no scarcity of nice progress shares in the marketplace to contemplate proper now. A few of these progress shares supply critical marketing-beating potential.

One such progress inventory is Alimentation Couche Tard (TSX:ATD) and right here’s why this progress inventory belongs in your portfolio proper now.

Meet Alimentation Couche Tard

When was the final time you stopped at a fuel station or comfort retailer and thought it could be a nice progress decide? The passive nature of these retail operations leads traders to be dismissive of that massive, unlocked potential.

Alimentation Couche Tard is likely one of the largest comfort retailer and fuel station operators on the planet. The corporate blankets the planet, with over 14,000 places in over a dozen nations. However that’s not motive sufficient to class Couche Tard as a progress inventory with market-beating potential.

For that, we have to look slightly deeper.

Couche Tard has taken an aggressive stance on progress. In truth, Couche Tard has made more and more bigger acquisitions over time, reaching into new markets in addition to increasing into complementary providers.

Two current examples of that enlargement embrace Couche-Tard’s foray into the automobile wash enterprise and its ongoing EV community buildout.

Extra not too long ago, the corporate introduced earlier this month that it accomplished the acquisition of the retail belongings of Europe-based TotalEnergies. Particularly, the deal contains all retail belongings in Germany and the Netherlands, in addition to 60% curiosity in belongings situated in Belgium and Luxembourg. In whole, Couche Tard acquired curiosity in 2,175 websites from that deal.

Because of that spectacular progress, Couche-Tard has managed to maintain its CAGR (Compound Annual Development Price) in double-digit territory for the previous decade.

As of the time of writing, Couche-Tard is up almost 30% over the trailing 12-month interval. This places the expansion inventory into an excellent place with its market-beating potential.

Regardless of the already spectacular positive factors, there’s nonetheless room for Couche-Tard to rise additional.

Why Couche-Tard is a good progress inventory

There isn’t a single motive why traders ought to flock to this market-beating progress inventory. As an alternative, there’s a basket of the explanation why.

First, we’ve got the defensive enchantment of the inventory. Gasoline stations and comfort shops are extremely defensive companies. Arguably, they’re each requirements too, and this implies they will proceed to supply a wholesome recurring income stream for Couche-Tard.

Talking of defensive enchantment, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out each the geographical diversification of Couche-Tard’s enterprise in addition to its transition into serving EV prospects. The primary main milestone in that enlargement is the corporate’s 200-location charging community, which is focused for this yr.

Subsequent, we’ve got the insane strategy to enlargement. Couche-Tard’s acquisition of the retail belongings of TotalEnergies is simply the newest drop within the bucket. In truth, potential traders shall be shocked to understand the corporate opened its first comfort retailer simply over 40 years in the past in Quebec.

Lastly, let’s discuss dividends. Sure, this market-beating progress inventory does affords traders a dividend, albeit a small one. As of the time of writing, Couche-Tard affords a quarterly dividend, paying out a yield of 0.73%.

That’s hardly sufficient to retire on, however it’s dependable and like all issues Couche-Tard, it’s rising.

For my part, Couche-Tard is a superb progress inventory for traders on the lookout for a market-beating long-term choice.

Purchase it, maintain it, and watch it develop.