ASX small-cap shares can be some of the most exciting investments to own for the long-term because of how much they may grow over the next five or ten years.
A business growing from $2 billion to $3 billion is an increase of 50%. A business growing from $500 million to $2 billion is a quadrupling in size. The earlier we invest in a business, the more of its growth journey we can ride along for.
I'm going to talk about two investments that I think could deliver significant returns over the next five years.
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Siteminder Ltd (ASX: SDR)
Siteminder provides software to hotel operators around the world, to help their operations and bookings. It generates A$85 billion in hotel revenue across 150 countries, with 130 million transactions for more than 50,000 hotel customers globally.
It is able to give its hotel subscribers an extensive view of data and trends, with some modules giving clients the ability for Siteminder to automatically change hotel room prices to maximise revenue and occupancy throughout the year.
The Siteminder share price has dropped around 50% since October 2025, so it's significantly cheaper – I think it's a great time to invest. The fall has happened despite the company generating more annualised recurring revenue (ARR) than ever – it's targeting 30% organic annual revenue growth in the medium-term, which would be an excellent expansion rate.
The ASX small-cap share has recently reached positive profitability and cash flow, so additional revenue growth from here should be very helpful because of the operating leverage of a software business.
Broker UBS forecasts Siteminder's revenue could grow from $284 million in FY26 and reach $589 million by FY30 – that'd be an increase of more than 100%.
VanEck MSCI International Small Cos Quality ETF (ASX: QSML)
This exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a leading option to invest in global small-cap shares. These are typically bigger businesses than ASX small-cap shares, but they have just as much potential.
I also like this option because of the diversification that comes with owning a portfolio of shares, not just a singular name.
It aims to invest in a portfolio of 150 names that come from a variety of countries. Markets with an allocation of at least 0.6% include the US, the UK, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, Thailand, Israel, Denmark, France, Mexico and Finland.
This isn't a tech fund though – tech is not even one of the two largest sectors! Industrials has a 40% weighting in the fund and financials is the next biggest at 18.3%. The IT sector is the third and last industry with a double-digit weighting, at 12.1%.
There are three factors that a business must have – a high return on equity (ROE), earnings stability and low financial leverage. Each of those elements are appealing on their own, but together they are a powerful combination when found in the same business.
The fund has delivered an average return of 14.9% per year over the last three years, showing its potential to perform over time, though the next three years may not be as strong.
