If Steve Jobs was a visionary, conjuring products that consumers didn’t know they needed but soon couldn’t live without, Tim Cook was an operator, tasked with optimizing the production of those goods and ensuring that they were as profitable as they were appealing. During his time as Apple CEO, Cook more than succeeded in his designated role, which helped to drive the company’s market capitalization from about $350 billion in 2011 to more than $4 trillion today. That said, it’s not as though innovation was abandoned over the past decade and a half, with products such as the Apple Watch and AirPods introduced during the period. As well, it was under Cook’s guidance that the company introduced a services ecosystem — including the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Pay — which now brings in $100 billion in annual revenue and operates at a 75% gross margin.
Of course, we’re more interested in where Apple is going than where it’s been and the company is facing a host of potential challenges. Whereas new iPhone releases once felt revolutionary, spurring fevered anticipation and round-the-block lines, they now have an air of routineness about them. As well, the massive demand for components by the AI buildout is pressuring the supply chains that provide advanced parts for Apple products and, speaking of AI, Apple has mostly elected to sit out its development. While this stance has protected Apple’s balance sheet and may provide optionality to choose the best path once winners emerge, it also could leave the company on the outside looking in. For these reasons, we recently sold our position in the stock and will monitor the company’s outlook once the incoming CEO lays out his vision and strategy.
Portfolio Activity
We trimmed our weight in Brookfield Corp. in March and used resulting funds to boost our Intact Financial position. We also slightly reduced our allocations to both TD and Royal Bank of Canada.
Feature Stock
TFI International Inc. (TFII)
We’ve owned North American trucking and logistics company, TFII, in the DM Canadian Equity Portfolio for several years. Despite operating in an extremely competitive industry, where most operators struggle to earn an economic profit, TFII has thrived through operational discipline, advanced technology deployment, and a focused acquisition strategy that has seen the company grow to one of the largest providers in North America, with more than 630 facilities and 43,000 trailers servicing the US, Canada, and Mexico. Though higher fuel costs resulting from the Middle East conflict and a potential slowing of the broad economy will undoubtedly present challenges for the company, these headwinds will also likely provide opportunities for accretive acquisitions. Recently, for example, TA Dedicated, a TFII subsidiary, acquired Triangle Warehouse which added over 1000 pieces of equipment and 900,000 square feet of food-grade, temperature controlled warehouse space to its operation. We added to our TFII position in both April and July of last year and the stock has risen by 62% over the past 12 months and 32% so far in 2026.