The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that utility poles are not exactly top-of-mind for investors looking for sexy investments, in the manner of the Magnificent 7 technology stocks. The Globe's John Heinzl writes, however, that to Stella-Jones investors, and the word that invariably pops into their heads is "cha-ching!" While sexy industries such as artificial intelligence and electric cars garner all the headlines, the Montreal-based maker of pressure-treated wood utility poles, railway ties and residential lumber quietly goes about making its investors rich: As boring as these products are, they never go out of style, and you cannot replace a railway tie or utility pole over the Internet. Over the past 10 years, the shares have posted a total return of about 220 per cent, or more than 12 per cent annually. This year brought some of the stock's strongest gains yet, as sales through the first nine months of 2023 rose nearly 10 per cent to $2.63-billion and net income jumped about 32 per cent to $270-million. With utility poles -- Stella-Jones's largest division -- benefiting from higher prices as the company boosts production to meet future demand, the stock could be growing straight and tall for a while yet.