A Year Later: The Growth Stock I’d Still Hold for the Next Decade

The best growth stocks to buy and hold for the next decade usually do a few things well. They serve a market that keeps expanding, they build sticky products that customers don’t want to rip out, and they leave themselves room to grow both organically and through smart acquisitions. Investors also want a growth stock with improving cash flow, not just a nice story. As the market has become a lot less patient with expensive stocks that can’t back up the hype, now is more important than ever. So, let’s look at a few to consider on the TSX today.

VHI

VitalHub (TSX:VHI) builds software for health and human services providers, with products spanning electronic health records, patient flow, workforce tools, and operational software. In short, it helps hospitals and care systems work better. That gives it exposure to a part of the economy that still needs modernization, no matter what the broader market does. The growth stock now serves more than 1,300 clients and employs more than 700 people globally, so this is no longer a tiny niche story.

Over the last year, VitalHub stayed busy in exactly the way long-term investors like to see. It closed its biggest acquisition yet when it bought Strata Health for upfront consideration of $32.3 million, adding referral and care-transition software that serves more than 80 health systems and over 500 hospitals. It also continued to win business in Canada, including new Novari referral and wait-list technology deployments in Ontario this April. That mix of acquisitions plus new customer wins gives the growth story more than one engine.

Into earnings

The latest earnings were strong. In the fourth quarter of 2025, annual recurring revenue rose 35% year over year to $96.1 million, total revenue climbed 52% to $31.4 million, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased 47% to $7.4 million. Net income also jumped to $4.1 million from $0.8 million a year earlier. For full-year 2025, revenue reached $109 million, up 59%, while adjusted EBITDA rose 49% to $26.6 million. For a software company with acquisition activity still moving through the numbers, that’s a pretty healthy result.

Valuation is where things get a little more interesting. VitalHub’s market cap recently sat around $523 million at writing, with its trailing price-to-earnings ratio near 82. So no, this is not a bargain-bin stock on a traditional earnings basis. But that headline multiple also comes with a balance sheet holding $119.2 million in cash and short-term investments at year-end 2025, which gives VitalHub a lot of flexibility to keep buying growth without stretching too hard.

Future focus

Looking ahead, the outlook still feels appealing. Management said 2025 was a milestone year as the growth stock passed $100 million in revenue, and it expects further margin improvement in 2026 as newer acquisitions get integrated. It also highlighted 10% organic annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth in the fourth quarter. This shows the business isn’t leaning only on deals. A growth stock that can acquire well is nice, but a company that can also grow from within is a lot nicer.

There’s also a bigger reason this stock still fits a 10-year hold. Healthcare systems across Canada, the U.K., and other markets still need better digital tools, better patient flow, and less administrative mess. VitalHub now has a broader portfolio, deeper cross-selling opportunities, and a growing artificial intelligence (AI) angle in its product roadmap. That doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing. Integration risk is real, and the valuation can still wobble if growth slows. But the growth stock keeps building a larger platform in a market that should stay hungry for better software.

Bottom line

A year later, I’d still hold VitalHub for the next decade. Shares may be down 16% in the last year, but they’ve rebounded 23% since the last earnings report. It has the kind of setup growth investors should want: a sticky niche, strong recurring revenue, solid recent execution, and room to keep expanding. The growth stock may not always look cheap, and it probably won’t move in a straight line. But when a company keeps getting bigger, more profitable, and more useful to its customers, that’s often exactly the kind of stock worth hanging onto.

The post A Year Later: The Growth Stock I’d Still Hold for the Next Decade appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vitalhub. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.