There have been some big moves on the Australian share market on Thursday.
Two ASX shares that are in the headlines for different reasons are named below. Here's what you need to know about them:
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Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)
The Megaport share price is up 30% to $12.90 after the network solutions company announced another major contract win for its Latitude.sh business.
Latitude.sh secured three major GPU, CPU, network, and storage contracts across two customers.
The company believes this reinforces Megaport's position as a critical infrastructure partner in the accelerating AI ecosystem.
According to the release, the contracts represent a combined total contract value (TCV) of approximately US$182.9 million (A$254 million), representing approximately US$65.2 million (A$90.6 million) in annualised recurring revenue (ARR).
Two of the contracts, representing approximately 90% of the TCV, have 36-month initial terms, while the third contract has a 24-month contract term.
Megaport's CEO, Michael Reid, said:
We are at the forefront of an accelerating inflection point across the industry. As use cases shift from AI foundation models to inference and the edge, Megaport is becoming an essential platform for powering the applications of tomorrow with globally distributed, automated infrastructure.
Whether supporting AI, edge compute, or anyone requiring instant global reach and performance, Megaport is a one-stop platform for the AI ecosystem, providing on-demand, software-enabled performance of dedicated hardware with the flexibility of a global network.
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)
After initially charging higher, Xero shares have hit reverse and tumbled deep into the red. The cloud accounting platform provider's shares are down 9% to $73.74 at the time of writing.
This has been driven by the release of the company's FY 2026 results this morning.
Xero reported a 31% increase in operating revenue to $2.75 billion, an 18% lift in adjusted EBITDA to $757.4 million, and a 37% jump in annualised monthly recurring revenue (AMRR) to $3.27 billion.
This was driven by a 0.5 million increase in net customers to 4.92 million globally. Its growth was particularly strong in the key US market.
Commenting on the result, Xero's CEO, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, said:
Our strong full year results demonstrate Xero's disciplined execution and macro-resilience. Our 3×3 strategy is hitting its stride, demonstrated by accelerating US growth with 110,000 new customers, including new Melio direct payments customers, and pro-forma revenue growth of 50%. We have powerful momentum across our markets, and delivered strong EBITDA growth while absorbing Melio.
This has moved us beyond single-job workflows in the US by integrating Melio to unite accounting and payments on one platform. Globally, we are providing a small business financial operating system for the AI era, driving value for customers while deepening our technology foundations, compliance capability and data advantages, and driving stronger unit economics.
So, why the selling? Well, although Xero's result beat consensus estimates across most metrics, Citi notes that its profit was a miss due to higher R&D capitalisation.
