By anyone's measure, 2025 was a decent year for the Australian share market and many ASX shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the year at 8,159.1 points and finished up in December at 8,714.3 points. That's a gain worth about 6.8%, disregarding the new record high of 9,115.2 points back in June. If we include dividend returns too, the ASX 200 recorded a return of about 10.2% for 2025.
In any given year, we are going to see some ASX shares outperform the broader market, and others undershoot it.
Today, let's go over two ASX shares that won big last year, and that I think are poised to continue their success in 2026
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Two ASX shares that beat the market in 2025
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)
Wesfarmers has just come off another successful year. The ASX 200 industrial and retailing conglomerate began 2025 at $71.53 a share. But by the time December wrapped up, Wesfarmers had hit $81.09. That translates to a 2025 gain of 13.37%. You can throw in another 3% or so to account for the two fully franked dividends the company paid out last year, too. So we have a clear market-beater here.
I own Wesfarmers shares myself, and I am confident that the company's best days are in front of it. Wesfarmers owns four of the best retailers in Australia – Bunnings, Kmart, OfficeWorks and Target. In addition, the company has extensive industrial operations, ranging from gas distribution and healthcare to work clothing and lithium extraction.
Wesfarmers has a long history of prudent capital management, including an ever-rising dividend. As such, I'm happy to keep a cart hitched to this horse in 2026.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Next up, let's talk about ASX share and investing house Soul Patts. Soul Patts shares began 2025 at a price of $34.22 each. They ended the year at $37.14 after rising as high as $45.14 at one point. That gives this company a 2025 gain of 8.53%. Again, we can throw on another 3% or so to account for this company's full-franked dividends, making Soul Patts a market beater for the year.
Soul Patts is another top holding in my own portfolio, and I think it is primed for another big year in 2026. This faith rests on Soul Patts' long history of delivering market-beating gains. As we've discussed plenty of times in recent weeks, this ASX share managed to average a return of 13.7% per annum over the 25 years to September 2025. Given that its performance last year was less than 13.7%, I'm confident that this year won't be a disappointment.
