The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a positive month and charged 2.2% higher in July.
Unfortunately, not all ASX 200 shares climbed with the market. Here's why these were the worst-performing shares over the month:
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Liontown Ltd (ASX: LTR)
The Liontown share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 index with a decline of almost 43%. Part of this decline was driven by the release of the lithium miner's fourth-quarter update, which fell short of expectations. Morgans stated that "4Q26 revenue, unit costs and AISC all missed expectations, while production held broadly in line with consensus despite weaker recoveries." In addition, Liontown's FY27 guidance disappointed on cost and capex. Nevertheless, the broker still has a buy rating and $1.90 price target on Liontown's shares. This is almost double its current share price of 97 cents.
DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)
The DroneShield share price was out of form again and sank 30% during July. Investors were selling the counter-drone technology company's shares following the release of a trading update. Although DroneShield reported strong revenue growth, it was comfortably below expectations. Bell Potter said: "1H26 revenue is expected to be $125.8m, up 74% YoY and CY26e revenue is expected to be in the range of $250-270m up 15-25% on CY25, 17-23% below VA consensus of $323m."
PEXA Group Ltd (ASX: PXA)
The PEXA Group share price wasn't far behind with a decline of 28%. This may have been driven by news that the independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal is proposing a ~20% reduction in the company's regulated revenue requirement via reductions to certain transfer transaction fees over a year. In response, Morgans downgraded the ASX 200 share to a hold rating with a heavily reduced price target of $9.35.
Iperionx Ltd (ASX: IPX)
The Iperionx share price was a poor performer and tumbled 25% in July. The titanium products manufacturer's shares were on the slide the whole month before the release of its quarterly update on 30 July. That update revealed major operational progress but further cash outflows. In response, Bell Potter retained its speculative buy rating but cut its price target to $5.60 (from $8.25). This is still significantly higher than its current share price of $3.05.
