Down 23%, This Dividend Stock is a Major Long-Time Buy

A dividend stock can turn into a great decades-long hold after a big drop as you can get paid to wait. All while the business works through a rough patch. The key strategy is simple: the dividend must come from real, repeatable cash flow, and the balance sheet must handle stress without forcing a cut. A falling share price can also reset expectations, which can set up stronger long-term returns if the company keeps growing and funding the payout. Still, you need patience, because a cheap stock can stay cheap if earnings wobble or debt gets too heavy. So let’s look at one solid choice.

GSY

goeasy (TSX:GSY) runs a straightforward business with a not-so-straightforward customer. It lends to Canadians who sit 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, over 400 locations, and a big network of merchant partners. That model gives it two levers at once: it can grow by adding customers, and it can grow by expanding the loan book per customer.

The dividend stock’s market story is that it has swung hard. It hit an all-time high around $218 in September 2021, then slid as rates rose and investors started to worry more about consumer credit. More recently, it traded in a wide band over the last year, with shares down about 22% over this time.

That drop also tells you what the market fears. goeasy lives and dies by the health of the Canadian consumer, and the last couple of years forced a lot of households to stretch. When investors smell rising delinquencies, they often sell first and ask questions later. The flipside is that goeasy has a long profitability streak and a long dividend record, so the business has not fallen apart just because the share price has.

Into earnings

Now for the numbers that matter. In its third quarter ended September 30, 2025, goeasy grew its consumer loan portfolio to $5.4 billion, up 24% year over year, and it delivered record revenue of $440 million, up 15%. It also reported a net charge-off rate of 8.9%, down 30 basis points from the prior year’s quarter. Those are solid metrics, as they show growth without a blow-up in losses.

Earnings looked messy on the surface, and you need to understand why. goeasy posted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.98 versus $4.88 a year earlier, but pointed to a $43.1 million non-cash fair value change tied to prepayment options on notes payable as a major hit. It also reported adjusted diluted EPS of $4.12, down 5% from $4.32. In short, operations stayed profitable, but accounting noise and a tougher credit backdrop pulled reported results around.

The valuation helps explain why some investors start circling after a decline like this. Recent market data shows goeasy around a single-digit trailing price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.8, alongside a dividend yield around 4.3% with an annual dividend figure shown near $5.84. On the outlook side, goeasy highlighted funding capacity and talked about the ability to keep growing the loan book, and it approved a quarterly dividend of $1.46 per share. The risk stays real, though, as a recession or a sharper rise in delinquencies can crush sentiment fast, and regulators can always tighten the screws on consumer lending.

Bottom line

So why consider goeasy as a buy-and-hold “forever” pick while it sits well below past highs? You get a real dividend, you get a business that still grows its loan book, and you get a valuation that already prices in a lot of fear. And right now, that dividend can bring in high income from just $7,000.

COMPANYRECENT PRICENUMBER OF SHARESDIVIDENDANNUAL TOTAL PAYOUTFREQUENCYTOTAL INVESTMENTGSY$135.9151$5.84$297.84Quarterly$6,931.41

goeasy can reward patience if Canada’s consumer stress eases and credit losses stay contained. But you can’t treat it like a sleepy utility. If you want a dividend stock you never check, this one will annoy you. If you can handle swings and you focus on the long game, it can earn a spot in a decades-long portfolio.

The post Down 23%, This Dividend Stock is a Major Long-Time Buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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More reading

• 5 Stocks for Canadian Value Investors
• 1 Canadian Stock Down 19% That’s Pure Long-term Perfection
• This Stock Could Be the Best Investment of the Decade
• Your First Canadian Stocks: How New Investors Can Start Strong in January
• 1 Canadian Dividend Stock Down 37% to Buy and Hold Forever

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