David Burrows’ Bullish Bets: GE, Agnico, and Imperial
David Burrows names his top stocks for navigating 2025’s shifting market terrain—GE Aerospace, Agnico Eagle, and Imperial Oil lead the charge with cash flow, clarity, and capital returns.
David Burrows, President and Chief Investment Strategist at Barometer Capital Management, has once again put a confident stamp on where the smart money should be headed. His latest appearance on BNN Bloomberg wasn’t just a market check-in, it was a declaration. A declaration that risk assets are not just surviving—they’re thriving. With global liquidity expanding, populist fiscal spending pushing demand, and equity market breadth improving, Burrows says the tides are turning in favor of large caps with pricing power, free cash flow and a grip on their future.
Since the Trump-led tariff shock rippled through markets, we’ve witnessed a recalibration. Breadth in equities and commodities has improved globally. That kind of synchronized strength across sectors is rare and typically signals the next leg up for risk-on assets. Burrows isn’t mincing words. He believes the macroeconomic backdrop—softening monetary policy, aggressive government spending and robust earnings potential—suggests risk assets are the place to be.
Barometer Capital isn’t chasing momentum blindly. They’re targeting self-financing companies with accelerating cash flows and the ability to return capital to shareholders. Companies that offer consistency, clarity and leverage over their own destinies. And in this environment, Burrows’ latest top picks—GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE), Agnico Eagle (TSX: AEM) and Imperial Oil (TSX: IMO)—stand out not just as solid plays, but as strategic bets on structural trends.
GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE): Rebuilt, Reborn, Ready for Takeoff
GE Aerospace isn’t the General Electric of old. The industrial giant has been reborn, slimmed down and hyper-focused. With GE Vernova spinning off, GE Aerospace now flies solo—and it's soaring. Burrows highlights it as a textbook case of recognizing positive change. GE’s transformation into a standalone aerospace titan is already unlocking value. The service and maintenance segment is now driving the bus, making up 70 percent of GE Aerospace’s total revenue and growing at a blistering 30 percent year over year.
That recurring revenue is gold. Airlines globally are operating older fleets. With fewer new jets rolling off Boeing’s troubled production lines, maintenance is no longer a sideline—it’s a necessity. GE is uniquely positioned to capitalize. At any given moment, close to a million people are in the air on GE-powered flights. That kind of dominance isn't just impressive, it’s lucrative. Burrows sees the service business as the long-term growth engine, providing both visibility and margin expansion.
GE Aerospace’s recent earnings blew past expectations, giving upbeat three-year guidance that includes double-digit revenue growth and a 20 percent capital return increase to shareholders. In short, this isn’t just a recovery story. It’s a structural growth story, rooted in necessity and supported by global travel trends.
Agnico Eagle (TSX: AEM): Quietly Building a Golden Fortress
Gold has been glittering at the edge of every investor’s radar, but Agnico Eagle is more than a safe-haven play. Burrows points to the miner’s stronghold position in Canada and Australia, where 90 percent of its production is based. This matters. Political stability, low-cost operations and brownfield development opportunities make Agnico Eagle a fortress in uncertain times.
The company is sitting on nearly a billion dollars in cash and an undrawn $2 billion credit facility. That liquidity means flexibility, and management is wasting no time. They’ve doubled their buyback authorization to $1 billion and hinted at resuming dividend hikes once their net cash target is met. That target is close.
Unlike many gold miners that are reactive, Agnico is proactive. It’s not just waiting for gold to rally—it’s positioning itself to return capital aggressively when it does. With net debt nearly flat and operational performance steady, Burrows sees Agnico not as a speculative gold bet, but as a disciplined capital allocator that could quietly outperform if the yellow metal continues its upward trajectory.
Imperial Oil (TSX: IMO): Dividend Powerhouse with Decades of Fuel
Burrows’ energy pick isn’t about chasing the latest boom. It’s about long-life assets, dependable returns and disciplined execution. Imperial Oil is a beast of stability, with a 25-year reserve life, a diversified business model and an almost surgical approach to returning capital. The company has completed three major share buyback programs in just two years and has now renewed its plan to repurchase another five percent of outstanding shares.
The dividend story here is even more compelling. Thirty consecutive years of dividend growth is rare, and Imperial’s five-year dividend CAGR of 22 percent is a testament to its operational excellence and shareholder-first mentality. The company’s balance sheet is pristine, allowing it to spend when necessary, but also throttle back to ensure consistent free cash flow. Capex is scheduled to tick up slightly in 2025, but drop again in 2026, creating a setup for even greater capital returns in the years ahead.
This isn’t a flashy pick. It’s a foundation pick. Burrows isn’t looking for speculation, he’s looking for dependability in a volatile world—and Imperial Oil checks every box.
Conclusion
David Burrows’ top picks are more than just ticker symbols. They’re reflections of a broader thesis—that in a world flushed with liquidity and geopolitical noise, companies that control their cash flow, dominate their markets and return capital to shareholders are the ones that win. Whether it’s aerospace, gold or oil, the common thread is clarity. These are businesses that aren’t just navigating uncertainty—they’re thriving in it.