If they can keep building their international presence, I think the three shares below could be considerably larger businesses in the years ahead.

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

Breville has turned an Australian appliance brand into a global premium kitchen business.

Its products now compete in major markets around the world, particularly across coffee and food preparation.

I think coffee is one of the most interesting parts of the opportunity.

Consumers have become increasingly willing to spend money on better coffee at home, and Breville has built a strong reputation for machines that sit between basic household appliances and much more expensive professional equipment.

That gives the company room to keep attracting people who want to recreate the café experience at home.

Breville can also grow by entering more countries, expanding its product range, and encouraging existing customers to buy additional products over time.

One thing I like is that the company does not need to become the dominant appliance company everywhere. Winning a larger share of premium kitchen spending across a growing collection of markets could be enough to support many years of expansion.

Catapult Sports Ltd (ASX: CAT)

Catapult Sports operates in a growing part of the technology industry.

Its technology helps professional sporting organisations analyse athlete performance, video, tactics, and other information used by coaches and performance teams.

I think there is a strong long-term reason for clubs to spend more in this area.

Elite sport is enormously competitive. Even small improvements in player preparation, recruitment, injury management, or tactical decision-making can be valuable when teams are trying to gain an advantage.

Catapult can keep expanding by signing more organisations, adding more teams within existing customers, and encouraging those customers to use more of its software and technology.

The company has also broadened its offering through areas such as video analysis and athlete scouting.

For me, that creates the opportunity for Catapult to become increasingly embedded in how professional sporting organisations operate.

There are major leagues, clubs, universities, and sporting programs across the world, so I think the addressable market still gives the business plenty of room to run.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport gives businesses a way to connect their networks directly to cloud providers, data centres, and other digital infrastructure.

I think that becomes more valuable as companies rely on a growing number of cloud services.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could create another source of demand for Megaport's services.

AI workloads require enormous amounts of computing power and data to move between infrastructure. Businesses may need to connect to several cloud providers or specialised computing platforms rather than keeping everything in one place.

Megaport has also expanded into AI infrastructure through Latitude.sh, giving it exposure to customers looking for access to high-performance computing.

I like the broader idea here. As corporate IT infrastructure becomes more distributed, businesses need flexible ways to connect everything together. Megaport has built a global network specifically around solving that problem.

If cloud computing and AI infrastructure continue expanding, I think the amount of connectivity businesses require could grow substantially with them.

Foolish takeaway

I think Australian investors sometimes underestimate just how large the opportunity can become when an ASX-listed company succeeds internationally.

Breville, Catapult Sports, and Megaport already have businesses that extend well beyond Australia, but I think there is still plenty of territory left to capture.

I would be comfortable buying all three and giving their global ambitions years to play out.

The post 3 ASX shares I'd buy for their global growth potential appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

There are several Australian businesses positioning themselves to benefit from AI growth, some of which have already enjoyed impressive share price gains.

The brokers at UBS have released reports this week on companies they like in the sector.

Let's see what they're saying.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

This company last week reported an operating profit of $2.67 billion for FY26, up 15.7% on the previous year, and said it was targeting earnings growth of 9% in the current financial year.

The company said:

The result reflects continued demand for Goodman's urban locations and the growing contribution from data centre developments, where secured power, scarce land and customer and investment partner engagement are supporting a significant development pipeline.

Chief Executive Officer Greg Goodman said the strong operating result positioned the company well as a global provider of digital infrastructure.

He added:

Goodman has been active in data centres since 2005 and over the past five years, we've deliberately deepened our exposure to the sector by securing the sites, power and capital needed in major metro markets. Demand is structural across both logistics and data centres. Automation and robotics continue to drive logistics requirements while scarcity of power and land remains the key constraint on AI and cloud growth supporting data centre demand. Hyperscaler capex expectations continue to rise, with many customers facing undersupply into 2027 and 2028.

UBS said demand remained "incredibly strong", with the company having a "compelling" offering.

UBS has a buy rating on the stock and a price target of $33.66 compared to $27.43 currently.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

This cloud computing company last week announced FY26 revenue of $312.2 million, up 37%, while EBITDA was up 24% to $77.1 million.

Megaport Chief Executive Officer Michael Reid said:

Our team delivered an exceptional result in FY26. The Network business produced its strongest commercial performance to date, Latitude.sh expanded rapidly following acquisition, and our combined capabilities secured major long-term customer contracts across Compute, Network, and Storage. We have materially increased the scale of the business, broadened the markets we can serve, and created a much larger opportunity. Now our job is to execute against it.

UBS said the net outcome of the results report was "firmly in the positive" and estimated EBITDA of $624 million for Megaport in FY28.

The broker has a price target of $26.40 on Megaport shares, up from $24.20, compared to the current share price of $18.19.

The post Two ASX data centre stocks rated a buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here's why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (ASX: DGT)

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this data centre company's shares with a trimmed price target of $3.35. The broker highlights that DigiCo announced its FY 2026 result last week with its underlying EBITDA of $126.6 million slightly above expectations. And while guidance for FY 2027 EBITDA came in below estimates, it believes a material capex spend and customer letters of intent points to earnings ramping up in FY 2028 as billing comes on line. It believes this should support a growing dividend. In addition, with its shares still trading at a deep discount to their net tangible assets, Bell Potter sees a lot of value in them. The DigiCo share price ended the week at $2.53.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $35.40 price target on this industrial property company's shares. This follows the release of an FY 2026 result that revealed operating earnings marginally ahead of consensus estimates. Once again, while its guidance for FY 2027 was a touch short of expectations, the broker appears confident it can outperform this and is expecting a double-digit three-year earnings compound annual growth rate. So, with its shares trading at a discount to its long-run PE ratio, Macquarie thinks now could be the  time to buy. The Goodman share price was fetching $27.27 at Friday's close.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Analysts at Morgans have upgraded this network services company's shares to a buy rating with a $25.00 price target. According to the note, Megaport delivered both FY 2026 earnings and FY 2027 guidance that were above market expectations. This reflects record network and compute growth. And while there are minor balance sheet concerns, Morgans believes the company will end FY 2027 with surplus liquidity of nearly $600 million. Outside this, it highlights that deals already contracted suggest that EBITDA will lift 3 times in FY 2027 and then more than double in FY 2028. The Megaport share price ended the week at $18.38.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

As have their shareholders.

With just a few hours of trade left before Friday's closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.7% for the week, with all three of these ASX 200 stocks suffering far bigger falls.

Here's what caught investor attention this week.

JB Hi-Fi shares sink on growth outlook

At time of writing, JB Hi-Fi shares are trading for $69.25 apiece, down 15.3% since last Friday's close.

Investors were reaching for their sell buttons on Monday following the release of JB Hi-Fi's FY 2026 results, sending the ASX 200 electronics retailer down 12.3% on the day.

That came despite the company reporting all-time high revenue of $11.06 billion, up 4.8% year on year.

And on the bottom line, JB Hi-Fi achieved a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $490 million, up 6% from FY 2025.

But JB Hi-Fi shares may have come under pressure, with the final fully-franked dividend of $1.27 per share down 38% from last year's final payout.

Investors also appear to have been concerned with a 1.4% decline in comparable sales growth for JB Hi-Fi Australia for the month of July (the first month of FY 2027).

Lendlease shares fall on full-year loss

Getting walloped alongside JB Hi-Fi shares this week, Lendlease shares are down 14.2% since last Friday's close, currently trading for $2.77 apiece.

The ASX 200 international property developer also reported its FY 2026 results on Monday, with shares closing down 11.2% on the day.

While the company's Investments, Development and Construction (IDC) segment reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $542 million, at the top end of guidance, investors were selling Lendlease shares amid the material one-off impairments in the company's Capital Release Unit (CRU).

On the bottom line, Lendlease reported a statutory loss after tax of $749 million for the 12-month period.

Megaport shares tumble on mixed results

Joining Lendlease and JB Hi-Fi shares in the doghouse this week, we find Megaport.

At the time of writing, Megaport shares are changing hands for $18.41 each, down 14.3% for the week.

The ASX 200 network services company has closed in the red every day this week, with shares tumbling 5.1% on Thursday on the heels of Megaport's own FY 2026 results release.

Some of that selling may come down to profit taking. On Wednesday, the day before the results release, Megaport shares had gained around 79% since 2 January.

Indeed, the company reported $312 million in full-year revenue, up 37% from FY 2025. And EBITDA of $77 million was up by 24%.

However, on the bottom line, Megaport's statutory net loss climbed from $300,000 in FY 2025 to $39 million in FY 2026, which clearly didn't escape investors' notice.

The post Why Megaport, Lendlease and JB Hi-Fi shares all crashed 14% to 15% this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

As earnings season continues, brokers have declared greater confidence in several ASX 200 shares this week.

Let's review. 

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The A2 Milk share price is $6.76, up 0.8% today and down 23% over 12 months.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 consumer staples share has fallen 4%.

Citi upgraded A2 Milk shares to a buy rating on Tuesday.

The rating change came after A2 Milk released its FY26 results.

The broker increased its 12-month price target from $7 to $7.40.

This implies a potential 9% upside ahead.

CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL)

The CSL share price is $167.94, down 1.9% today and down 26% over 12 months.

This ASX 200 healthcare share has ripped 38% amid a broader sector rebound over the past month.

Jarden upgraded CSL shares to a buy rating following the company's FY26 report.

The broker has a 12-month price target of $207, suggesting 23% upside ahead.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)

The IAG share price is $7.88, up 1% today and down 10% over 12 months. 

Over the past month, this ASX 200 financial share has fallen 6%.

Citi upgraded IAG shares to a buy call following the insurer's FY26 results.

The broker reduced its 12-month price target from $9 to $8.80.

This implies a potential 11% upside ahead for IAG shares.

Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price is $17.88, down 0.4% today and down 9% over 12 months.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 iron ore mining share has fallen 4%.

Jefferies upgraded Fortescue shares to a hold rating yesterday.

This followed Fortescue's FY26 earnings report.

Jefferies has a 12-month price target of $16.

This suggest a potential 10% downside ahead.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

The Megaport share price is $18.50, down 4.2% today and up 34% over 12 months.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 tech share has fallen 2%.

Morgan Stanley upgraded Megaport shares to a buy rating with a $25 target today.

The change followed Megaport's FY26 report this week.

This implies a potential 35% upside ahead.

Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR)

The Mirvac share price is $1.90, down 0.2% today and down 21% over 12 months.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 real estate share has risen 10%.

Jefferies upgraded Mirvac shares to a buy call after reviewing the developer's FY26 report.

The broker raised its 12-month price target from $1.80 to $2.09.

This indicates potential capital gains of 9% over the next year. 

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

The Treasury Wine Estates share price is $5.64, up 0.9% today and down 31% over 12 months.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 wine share has skyrocketed 22%.

Morgans upgraded Treasury Wine Estates shares after reviewing the company's FY26 earnings.

The broker increased its 12-month target from $5.95 to $7.30.

This suggests a possible 30% upside ahead.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN)

The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank share price is $10.33, up 1.1% today and down 21% over 12 months.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 bank share has fallen 3%.

Jarden upgraded Bendigo Bank shares to a buy rating after the bank released its FY26 report.

The broker has an $11 target, which implies about 6% upside ahead.

Further reading

Check out 10 ASX 200 shares downgraded by analysts this week.

Learn of 7 ASX 200 shares that received reaffirmed buy ratings this week.

The post 8 ASX shares just upgraded by the experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

I've selected three of those which UBS believes will perform particularly well from a share price perspective, which I'll run through now.

Let's have a look.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

Zip on Thursday announced record cash EBTDA of $268.9 million, up 57.9% on the previous year.

The buy now, pay later provider said total transaction volume (TTV) grew to $16.7 billion, up 27.2%, while the number of merchants on its platforms increased 13.8%.  

On the outlook, Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Scott said the company was targeting cash earnings of $340 million in FY27, which would be a 26% increase.

UBS said in a note to clients that the outlook for the current year was better than expected, providing comfort around the defensive qualities of the buy now, pay later business model through slowing economic times.

UBS said:

Whilst macro remains key uncertainty into FY27, we have increased confidence around Zip's defensive quality and ability to drive customer growth and transaction frequency. Our US TTV growth forecast of +30% in FY27 is comprised of 9% customer growth and 19% TTV/customer growth, which we view achievable.

UBS has a price target on ZIP shares of $4.70 compared to $2.76 currently.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

This cloud computing company this week announced FY26 revenue of $312.2 million, up 37%, while EBITDA was up 24% to $77.1 million.

Megaport Chief Executive Officer Michael Reid said:

Our team delivered an exceptional result in FY26. The Network business produced its strongest commercial performance to date, Latitude.sh expanded rapidly following acquisition, and our combined capabilities secured major long-term customer contracts across Compute, Network, and Storage. We have materially increased the scale of the business, broadened the markets we can serve, and created a much larger opportunity. Now our job is to execute against it.

UBS said the net outcome of the results report was "firmly in the positive", and they are estimating EBITDA of $624 million for Megaport in FY28.

The broker has a price target of $26.40 on Megaport shares, up from $24.20, compared to the current share price of $18.60.

MA Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MAF)

UBS said MA Financial Group delivered an in-line FY26 result, "though we think the share price reaction (+18%) reflects material potential for upside towards new FY29 targets, and a stronger 2H outlook''.

UBS has a price target on MA Financial Group of $10.10 compared to $7.07 currently.

The post 3 ASX shares UBS says will return better than 36% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Well, it could pay to hear what Morgans is saying about the popular ASX shares in this article. Are they buys, holds, or sells? Here's what you need to know:

Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG)

Morgans notes that this iron ore giant delivered a mixed FY 2026 result with flat earnings.

In light of this, the broker has retained its hold rating with a reduced price target of $18.70. It said:

A mixed FY26 result from FMG, with higher revenue helping to offset cost increases and elevated admin/R&D to help keep underlying earnings flat. With the focus on FY27 guidance, Iron Bridge remained a key issue, with the magnetite operation struggling through ramp up and with elevated costs. Plans for a green steel plant was big news, although difficult to quantify. We maintain a HOLD rating, with an A$18.70 target price (was A$21.80).

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

The broker was impressed with this network-as-a-service company's results and guidance for FY 2027.

In response, the broker has upgraded Megaport shares to a buy rating with a $25.00 price target. It commented:

MP1's FY26 underlying EBITDA and FY27 EBITDA guidance were above market expectations. Both Network and Compute delivered record growth. At first glance, simple maths suggests MP1's funding position looks tight. However, there is nearly $500m of additional funding that got lost in translation. We think MP1 ends FY27 with nearly $600m of surplus liquidity (assuming no new deals get signed). 

Deals already contracted deliver $620m of annualised contracted EBITDA which means after EBITDA lifts 3x YoY in FY27, it will more than double into FY28, based on deals already signed. We upgrade to a Buy recommendation and $25 target price.

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)

Finally, following the release of an FY 2026 result that was in line with expectations, Morgans has downgraded this gold miner's shares to a hold rating with a $25.00 price target. 

Commenting on the downgrade, Morgans said:

FY26 result was in line with a 30cps final dividend beating both MorgansF and consensus, while FY27 guidance met expectations at the headline level despite KCGM ramp-up risk. Move to a HOLD (previously ACCUMULATE) with a A$25ps target price. We expect the near-term valuation discount to persist until operating & strategic clarity improves post KCGM ramp-up and new CEO beginning in October.

The post Buy, hold, sell: Fortescue, Northern Star, and Megaport shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In late morning trade on Thursday, two of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) heavyweights are racing ahead of the 0.4% gains posted by the benchmark index, while one has just tumbled deep into the red.

Here's what's piquing investor interest.

Zip shares rocket on record earnings

Zip shares are off to the races today, up 14% at $2.94 apiece.

This strong performance follows the release of the ASX 200 buy now, pay later (BNPL) stock's full-year FY 2026 results.

Among the highlights, Zip grew its active customers by 3.7% year-on-year to 6.5 million. And the company's total transaction volume (TTV) of $16.7 billion was up 27.2%.

This helped drive a 24.7% increase in revenue to $1.34 billion, with Zip's operating margin improving by 4.2% from FY 2025 to 20%.

Also helping lift Zip shares today, the company achieved record cash earnings before taxes depreciation and amortisation (EBTDA) of $268.9 million, up 57.9% from last year.

And on the bottom line, Zip's net profit after tax (NPAT) surged 45.7% to $116.4 million.

Looking ahead, the ASX 200 BNPL stock is targeting cash EBTDA growth of 26% to $340 million in FY 2027. Zip is aiming for an operating margin in the range of 20% to 22%.

Northern Star shares leap on record profits

Like Zip shares, Northern Star shares are charging higher today.

At the time of writing, shares in the ASX 200 gold stock are changing hands for $24.15 each, up 7.1%.

Northern Star also reported its FY 2026 results today. And investors are clearly impressed.

Highlights from the financial year just past included a 19% year-on-year increase in revenue to $7.6 billion. The revenue boost was supported by a 26% higher average realised gold price.

On the earnings front, Northern Star reported underlying EBITDA of $4.27 billion, up 22% from FY 2025.

And on the bottom line, the ASX 200 gold miner achieved a record NPAT of $1.7 billion, up 24% year on year.

For passive income investors, management declared a fully-franked final dividend of 30 cents per share, in line with last year's final payout.

Which brings us to…

Megaport shares fall on $39 million net loss

Joining Northern Star and Zip shares in turning heads today, and releasing its FY 2026 results, we find Megaport.

Shares in the ASX 200 network services company kicked off the day in positive territory but have since tumbled into the red, down 4% at $19.52 apiece.

With Megaport shares having closed yesterday up some 79% in 2026, investor expectations are clearly high.

On the positive side of the ledger, Megaport achieved a 37% year-on-year increase in revenue to $312 million. And EBITDA increased by 24% from FY 2025 to $77 million.

But Megaport shares look to have come under pressure, with the ASX 200 tech stock reporting a statutory net loss of $39 million, which compares unfavourably to the net loss of $300,000 reported last year.

The post Why Megaport, Northern Star and Zip shares are turning heads on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the shares have climbed around 8% to a fresh all-time high of $21.96 each.

Today's increase means the shares are now up around 83% for the year to date and 52% higher than 12 months ago.

The update comes as Megaport posted a huge 37% increase in revenue, a 24% increase in EBITDA, and a 62% hike in group annual recurring revenue for FY26. Megaport's revenue figures came in at the high end of its upgraded guidance.  

Clearly, investors are pleased with the financial update, and many are rushing to snap up the company's shares this morning while they're still trading for cheap.

Megaport shares have rallied higher in 2026

The ASX tech shares have enjoyed an incredible rally over the past four months. Megaport shares rebounded strongly in May thanks to a run of good-news announcements and a reversal of investor sentiment.

The software-defined network (SDN) service provider has confirmed several new contracts since late-April, including a three-year compute and storage contract with a total contract value (TCV) of approximately US$25.1 million (A$35.4 million), and three additional binding contracts with two US AI customers, worth a TCV of approximately US$183 million and annualised recurring revenue (ARR) of approximately US$65 million. 

In early June, Megaport went into a trading halt ahead of the launch of a new fully underwritten $827.3 million entitlement offer. The company completed the institutional component of the offer, priced at $14.30 per share, on the 5th of June.

Today's bumper FY26 results and run of contract wins confirm that the business is on track for growth.

But now the question is, can Megaport shares keep climbing higher? Or have they reached fair value?

Here's what the experts think.

Here's what brokers tip for the ASX tech shares over the next 12 months

We might see brokers and analysts revise their outlooks on Megaport shares in the coming days, following today's results announcement.

But at the time of writing, brokers are very bullish about where the shares could travel to next.

Market Index data show that all brokers agree on a buy rating for Megaport shares. The $24.42 average target price implies a potential 11% upside, at the time of writing.

According to TradingView data, the majority of analysts (14 out of 16) have a buy/strong buy rating on the ASX tech shares.

The average $23.29 target price implies a potential 6% upside at the time of writing. However, some are even more bullish and tip the shares to increase up to 39% to $30.55 over the next 12 months.

Macquarie recently said it is impressed with the company's latest contract wins. The broker said Megaport provides AI exposure for investors with shorter lead times and less capital expenditure than data centre operators. It has a buy rating and a $27.80 price target for the shares.

The post Here's what brokers tip for Megaport shares over the next 12 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What did Megaport report?

• Revenue up 37% to $312.2 million (FY25: $227.1 million)
• EBITDA rose 24% to $77.1 million (FY25: $62.3 million)
• Net loss of $39.0 million (FY25: loss of $0.3 million)
• Group Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) increased 62% to $395.2 million
• Cash and cash equivalents at year end: $435.4 million
• No dividend declared for FY26

What else do investors need to know?

Megaport completed the acquisition of the compute platform Latitude.sh and India's Extreme IX internet exchange, broadening its platform and opening new markets. The company also executed over $1 billion in capital raises to fund large strategic contracts and establish an on-demand GPU pool.

During FY26, Megaport delivered eight significant multi-year infrastructure contracts valued at $747.8 million, underscoring rising demand for integrated network, compute and storage solutions, especially supporting AI workloads. Its ongoing global expansion included adding 155 data centres and further building out its US and Indian operations.

What did Megaport management say?

Megaport's CEO, Michael Reid, said:

A year ago, I said FY26 would be a year of acceleration. We delivered on that promise and went much further, completely transforming the scale, reach, and ambition of Megaport.

FY26 produced an exceptional result. Group Annual Recurring Revenue increased by 62% to $395.2 million, revenue grew by 37% to $312.2 million, and EBITDA reached $77.1 million. These are incredible results and we're only just getting started.

What's next for Megaport?

Looking ahead to FY27, Megaport plans to keep integrating its acquisitions, efficiently deliver contracted infrastructure, and bring its on-demand GPU pool to market. Management will also focus on sustaining network momentum while unifying compute, network, and storage through software, aiming to build on its position in distributed AI and digital infrastructure solutions.

Megaport says its priorities are disciplined investment in growth where demand is clear and where the business model provides strong returns. The board remains confident about the company's international growth opportunity and will continue to pursue markets for cloud, AI, and digital workloads.

Megaport share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Megaport share price has rocketed 42%, outpacing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and the broader tech sector's performance.

View Original Announcement

The post Megaport FY26: Earnings soar as AI and global footprint drive strategy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

It looks set to be a good session for Australian investors on Thursday following a positive night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 28 points or 0.3% higher this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones rose 0.2%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% and the Nasdaq pushed 0.15% higher.

ASX 200 result releases

Earnings season is going into overdrive on Thursday with a very large number of ASX 200 shares due to release their results. This includes Goodman Group (ASX: GMG), Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL), Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1), Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL), and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP).

Oil prices rise

ASX 200 energy shares including Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a good session after oil prices rose overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.85% to US$85.65 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.5% to US$91.49 a barrel. This was driven by an escalation in Middle East tensions.

Buy Evolution Mining shares

Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) shares are in the buy zone according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, in response to the gold miner's record results, the broker has retained its buy rating with an improved price target of $15.55. It said: "EVN offers fully unhedged gold and copper exposure via a portfolio of high quality, long-life assets in Tier 1 jurisdictions, overseen by a high-quality management team. EVN has demonstrated its intention to increase shareholder returns and gold price exposure."

Gold price jumps

It could be a very positive session for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Thursday after the gold price jumped overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 3.6% to US$4,581.1 an ounce. This was driven by a heavy decline in US bond yields and the US dollar.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The ASX 200 has been dragged higher by miners, banks and healthcare, while technology has largely been left behind.

However, things may change going forward.

Here are three names worth watching into the back half of reporting season.

Why brokers are warming to ASX growth shares again

Two things have shifted this year.

Earnings downgrades across the technology sector appear to have bottomed, and several companies have reset their guidance to levels they can realistically beat.

Valuations have also come a long way down from their 2024 peaks.

When a quality business trades at half its old multiple, the risk and reward equation starts to look very different.

WiseTech Global: the comeback candidate

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) has been the most heavily punished technology stock on the ASX.

The shares fell roughly 80% from their November 2024 peak of $141.61 to a low of $28.76 in late June.

They have since rebounded into the mid-$40s.

Macquarie has upgraded the logistics software group to an outperform rating ahead of results, which land on 26 August.

Management has guided to revenue of US$1.39 billion to US$1.44 billion and EBITDA of US$550 million to US$585 million.

The company also hit its US$50 million annualised cost synergy target from the e2open acquisition ahead of schedule.

Delivering inside those ranges would go a long way towards rebuilding credibility with the market.

Megaport: recurring revenue is compounding

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) has had a quieter but more consistent run.

Group annual recurring revenue reached $338 million in the first half of FY26, a 49% increase.

Revenue rose 26% to $134.9 million and EBITDA came in at $35.3 million.

The company added 167 net new customer logos, double the prior corresponding period.

Chief executive Michael Reid highlighted where that growth is coming from.

Our global business continues to scale, with the United States delivering exceptional momentum, pushing the Americas to 24% YoY ARR growth.

Megaport upgraded its outlook after securing $254 million in new contracts and now guides to FY26 revenue of $302 million to $317 million.

The shares recently pushed through the $5 billion market capitalisation mark.

DroneShield: a backlog the market is ignoring

DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) is the most speculative of the three.

First-half revenue jumped 74% to $125.8 million, whilst the counter-drone specialist has also locked in contracts that lifted its backlog to $206 million by late July.

Full-year guidance sits at $250 million to $270 million. Yet the share price has fallen roughly 13% over the past month.

Heavy short interest explains part of that disconnect.

The other part is that defence spending is lumpy, and a signed backlog is not the same thing as revenue recognised.

DroneShield reports on 26 August, and its margins in particular will be in focus.

What could derail these ASX growth shares

Each of these businesses is priced for flawless execution.

WiseTech needs to show its artificial intelligence restructuring has not disrupted customers.

Megaport is spending heavily, with FY26 capital expenditure guided at $90 million to $100 million.

DroneShield has to convert its pipeline while protecting its margins.

Any stumble over the coming fortnight is likely to be punished hard.

Foolish takeaway

Reporting season will settle a lot of arguments over the next two weeks.

Brokers see upside in all three of these ASX growth shares, though none of them is a low-risk proposition.

Personally, I would want to see the numbers before adding to any of them.

For investors with a high tolerance for volatility, these ASX growth shares still deserve a place on the watchlist.

The post 3 ASX growth shares brokers say could beat the market appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But I think the best ones to focus on are those that have the potential to grow much bigger in the future.

With that in mind, here are three ASX shares that I think could be worth watching.

Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB)

Hub24 could be an ASX share with plenty of growth ahead.

The company operates an investment and superannuation platform used by financial advisers to manage client portfolios, reporting, administration, and investment options.

This may not sound like the most exciting corner of the market, but it sits behind a huge pool of money.

Australia's superannuation and wealth management system continues to grow, and advisers need modern platforms that can make their work easier, cleaner, and more efficient.

Hub24 has been winning market share from older platform providers by offering strong technology and better functionality.

That gives the company a clear long-term opportunity. If more advisers keep shifting funds onto its platform, earnings could be much larger by 2030.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

Life360 is another ASX share that could be much bigger by 2030.

The company's app helps families stay connected through location sharing, safety alerts, driving reports, crash detection, and emergency support features.

This means the app is tied to family safety, coordination, and peace of mind. Parents may use it to keep track of teenagers, families may use it while travelling, and households can build it into everyday routines.

That gives Life360 a chance to become a sticky consumer subscription business.

The company already has a large user base, which creates an opportunity to convert more free users into paying subscribers and increase revenue per user over time.

If Life360 keeps expanding its paid features and building deeper family use cases, it could be a much larger company by 2030.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport could also be an ASX growth share to watch.

The company started with network-as-a-service technology, helping businesses connect more easily to cloud providers, data centres, and digital services.

But its opportunity now looks broader.

Megaport has moved into compute through the Latitude.sh acquisition, giving it exposure to high-performance infrastructure that can support artificial intelligence, gaming, software, and data-heavy applications.

This means the company is no longer just about connecting clouds. It is becoming part of the infrastructure layer that helps businesses move data, access computing power, and run more complex workloads across different locations.

Recent contract wins in this side of the business suggest the strategy is gaining traction.

There is still execution risk, but if demand for AI infrastructure and flexible digital connectivity keeps rising, Megaport could look very different by 2030.

The post 3 fantastic ASX shares that could be much bigger by 2030 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Brokers have indicated continued optimism for share price growth with several ASX 200 stocks this week.

Let's check them out.

Resmed CDI (ASX: RMD)

The Resmed share price is $32.11, up 1% today and down 27% over 12 months. 

Morgans renewed its buy rating on the ASX 200 healthcare share this week.

The broker trimmed its 12-month price target from $40.97 to $39.50.

This suggests a potential 23% upside ahead.

Resmed is among 8 ASX shares going ex-dividend next week.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

The Westpac share price is $35.46, down 0.7% today and down 2% over 12 months. 

UBS reaffirmed its buy rating on the ASX 200 bank share with a 12-month target of $45.

This suggests a potential 27% upside ahead.

Minerals 260 Ltd (ASX: MI6)

The Minerals 260 share price is 74 cents, down 4.9% today and up 471% over 12 months. 

Nope, that's not a typo!

Minerals 260 is a gold mineral explorer building the Bullabulling Project in Western Australia.

In FY26, the miner was No. 2 among the 5 best-performing ASX 200 shares for capital growth.

UBS thinks this stock has more room to run.

The broker reiterated its buy rating on Minerals 260 shares with a price target of 90 cents.

This implies potential capital gains of 22% over FY27.

ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) 

The ANZ share price is $38.73, up 1.8% today and up 19% over 12 months. 

ANZ reported an increase in its cash profit and net interest margin (NIM) for 3Q FY26 yesterday.

However, it noted a downturn in the value of mortgage loan applications since the Federal Budget.

Citi renewed its buy rating on ANZ shares with a $39.25 price target.

This suggests the ASX 200 bank stock is almost fully valued.

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

The Sonic Healthcare share price is $22.19, down 1% today and down 22% over 12 months. 

Healthcare is on a comeback tour after plunging to a nine-year low in June.

Since the sector turned on 3 June, ASX 200 healthcare shares have ripped 30% as a group.

Value investors have swooped in, and Sonic Healthcare is benefitting from the attention.

The Sonic Healthcare share price has risen 18% since 3 June.

This week, Bell Potter renewed its buy rating on Sonic Healthcare shares with a $28.75 target.

This implies potential capital growth of 30% over the next year.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)

The IAG share price is $8.06, up 3.1% today and down 6% over 12 months. 

UBS maintained its buy rating on IAG shares following the insurer's FY26 results yesterday.

The broker reduced its 12-month price target from $9.45 to $9.25.

This implies a potential 15% upside ahead for IAG shares.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

The Megaport share price is $21.58, down 0.5% today and up 49% over 12 months. 

UBS renewed its buy rating on the ASX 200 tech share on Wednesday.

The broker has a 12-month price target of $24.20 on Megaport shares.

This suggests a potential 12% upside ahead.

Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ)

The Bank of Queensland share price is $6.42, up 0.2% today and down 17% over 12 months. 

Morgans reiterated its buy rating on the ASX 200 financial share with a price target of $6.94.

This implies a potential 8% upside ahead.

The post 8 ASX 200 shares with fresh buy ratings this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This pessimistic session for the local markets came after a mixed night over on the American boards last night.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) couldn't quite hold water, dropping 0.04%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) made hay, though, rising a confident 0.54%.

Time now to return to the Australian markets, though, for a look at what was happening amongst the different ASX sectors this Thursday.

Winners and losers

As one would expect, there were more red sectors than green today.

Leading those red sectors were communications stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) was smashed, crashing down 2.3%.

Mining shares had a day to forget as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) tanking 0.71%.

Consumer discretionary stocks were on the nose too. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) took a 0.54% tumble this Thursday.

Gold stocks weren't providing any cover either, as evidenced by the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD)'s 0.47% dive.

Energy shares were left out in the cold. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) saw its value decline 0.35% today.

Industrial stocks fared similarly, with the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) sinking 0.26%.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were our last losers this Thursday. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) had slipped 0.15% by the end of the session.

With the red sectors out of the way now, let's turn to the green ones. Leading the pack were again utilities shares, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)'s 2.78% surge.

Tech stocks were exempt from the selling too. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) jumped 0.85% this session.

Consumer staples shares were another safe haven, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) improving by 0.74%.

We could say the same for healthcare stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) banked a 0.17% advance this Thursday.

Finally, financial shares found themselves on the right side of the ledger, as you can see by the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ)'s 0.08% appreciation.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Today's index gold medallist was waste stock Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY). Cleanaway shares cleaned up this session, rocketing 15.19% higher to $2.73 a share.

This spike followed news that Cleanaway has been approached with a takeover offer of $3.13 a share.

Here's how the rest of the winners pulled up at the kerb: 

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary that shows which companies made big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

While the shares have performed well over the short term, they're up a more modest but still impressive 37.9% over the past 12 months.

This begs the question, are Megaport shares still good value at the current price?

What's been moving Megaport shares?

This is complicated somewhat by the fact that there hasn't been a great deal of news flow from the company in recent months.

The most recent ASX releases of note relate to the company raising $827 million in new capital at a price of $14.30 per share.

Given the company's share price now sits at $20.18, shareholders who took part in the entitlement offer are already sitting on some healthy gains.

Megaport did also announce some new contracts in June worth about $458.9 million.

The company said as a result, it would establish an on-demand GPU pool supported by $350 million in investment, "providing enterprise customers with access to AI infrastructure through both contracted and consumption-based commercial models''.

The company added:

Newly secured contracts and creation of the GPU Pool form the foundation of Megaport's strategy to establish a Globally-Distributed AI Inference Cloud leveraging its footprint of more than 1,100 connected data centres across 31 countries.

Megaport Chief Executive Officer Michael Reid said:

AI inference represents one of the biggest infrastructure opportunities of the next decade The contracts announced today reflect the accelerating demand for globally-distributed AI inference infrastructure. Megaport's software-provisioned compute, network, and storage platform positions us strongly to meet that demand.

Broker says Megaport shares looking cheap

In relation to Megaport's current valuation, UBS issued a new research note this week, using CoreWeave's results as a benchmark.

The US company's revenue more than doubled to US$2.58 billion, beating analyst expectations, while the backlog of contracts signed but not yet delivered reached a massive US$104 billion.

UBS said the earnings and an associated investor call indicated strong demand dynamics for Megaport's Latitude business.  

UBS added:

Comments made on the call are positive on both demand and recontracting, especially extracting better returns from extending life of older gear. Comments also showed evidence of achieving better rates at higher margins, even with increased competition.

UBS has a price target of $24.20 for Megaport shares. The company is valued at $4.7 billion.

The post Megaport shares are up more than 100% in 3 months. Are they still a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This rather woeful Wednesday for the local markets followed a similarly downbeat night up on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was in a foul mood, dropping 0.34%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was even more cross, falling 0.6%.

But let's get back to the Australian boards now and dive a little deeper into how the various ASX sectors handled this hump day's tough trading conditions.

Winners and losers

There were only a few sectors that escaped today's session intact.

But first, it was real estate investment trusts (REITs) that bore the brunt of investors' displeasure. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) took a 1.02% plunge this Wednesday.

Consumer discretionary stocks were on the nose as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) tanking 0.81%.

We could say the same for communications shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) cratered 0.79%.

Consumer staples stocks were in that ballpark as well, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ)'s 0.76% dive.

Next came industrial stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) sank 0.67% this session.

Financial shares didn't get a break either, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) tumbling 0.59%.

Energy stocks weren't riding to the rescue. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) dipped down 0.42% today.

Nor were mining shares, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)'s 0.19% slide.

Our last losers were healthcare stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) was sent down 0.09% this Wednesday.

Let's turn to the winners now. Leading the charge were utilities shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) galloping 2.54% higher.

Gold stocks were a safe haven too. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) jumped 0.3% today.

Finally, tech shares held up well, evident by the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ)'s 0.16% advance.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA) was our winner this Wednesday. Codan shares enjoyed a big surge in demand today, shooting 9.3% higher to $44.54 a share by close.

There wasn't any price-sensitive news out from the company today, although perhaps investors got some inspiration from a presentation released this morning.

Here's how the other winners landed their planes: 

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary that shows which companies made big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Investors in Australia were inspired to buy tech stocks after more strong US earnings reports last week.

Amazon and Apple reported big quarterly earnings that helped allay fears over artificial intelligence (AI).

This followed robust earnings reports from Microsoft and Google parent, Alphabet, the week before.

eToro analyst Josh Gilbert said 86% of US companies had beat expectations so far this season.

He added:

… big tech delivered answers to the AI question marks.

That's the template for the local market to follow, because Wall Street's rally has been earned by results while the ASX is still waiting on its own.

The 8.4% gain for ASX 200 tech shares last week follows an 8.2% rise the week before.

The tech sector is recovering from a dramatic 48% slump between August 2025 and March this year.

The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) is now up 27% since bottoming out on 30 March.

The broader market is also on a roll.

The ASX 200 has risen for four consecutive months, and hit a new record of 9,296.7 points on Thursday.

After just five weeks of trading in FY27, the ASX 200 is already up 5.5%.

That's significant after just 2.8% growth in FY26 (total return, including dividends, was 7%).

Investors have been buoyed by cooler inflation, which lowers the risk of more interest rate hikes for now.

The market also remains hopeful that an Iran-Oman deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will be finalised soon.

The August earnings season will provide an important test for the ASX 200's momentum, said Gilbert.

The ASX reaching this new high has been helped by pretty much the whole index, with broad-based gains across the board. 

Over the next month, corporate Australia has to show the numbers to match the market's confidence.

Our reporting calendar shows when the big ASX 200 names are releasing their results this season.

Tech shares lead for a second week

The WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price soared 12.89% to $40.98 last week.

The Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) share price rose 9.37% to $76.56.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) shares ascended 6.47% to $32.75 apiece.

The Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) share price jumped 11.39% to $28.56.

The Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price leapt 11.49% to $20.18.

The Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT) share price rose 6.96% to $14.29.

Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR) shares lifted 5.19% to $13.18 apiece.

Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA) shares rose 2.45% to finish at $41.06 on Friday.

The Elsight Ltd (ASX: ELS) share price soared 26.48% to $7.07 on a record quarterly report.

ASX 200 market sector snapshot

Here's how the 11 market sectors stacked up last week, according to CommSec data.

Over the five trading days:

The post ASX 200 tech shares lead again as big US earnings inspire local confidence appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

While US giants generally take the headlines, several ASX shares are helping build the computing and digital infrastructure needed to support that growth.

Here are three shares I would consider for long-term AI exposure.

NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

NextDC is one of the most direct ways to invest in the physical infrastructure behind AI.

Training and running increasingly powerful models requires enormous computing capacity. That creates demand for data centres with access to electricity, advanced cooling systems, strong security, and reliable connections to cloud providers and other networks.

NextDC is investing heavily to build this capacity across Australia and Asia. Importantly, the expansion is being supported by customer demand rather than management simply hoping the capacity will eventually be filled.

The company's contracted utilisation reached 667 megawatts in March, while its forward order book stood at 544 megawatts.

I think this gives NextDC considerable visibility over its future growth. The company still needs to fund and deliver a large development pipeline, but its growing customer commitments show that AI infrastructure demand is already becoming commercially meaningful.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Goodman provides another way to invest in the data centre build-out.

Suitable facilities require far more than a large building. Developers also need to secure land, planning permission, substantial power connections, and access to major customer markets.

Goodman has spent years assembling these ingredients across some of the world's largest cities. Its global data centre power bank now stands at 6.4 gigawatts across 16 international cities, including completed facilities, secured power, and potential future projects.

I believe that access to powered sites is becoming increasingly valuable as AI companies and cloud platforms compete for data centre capacity. Goodman can develop these properties for major customers while continuing to earn income from its wider logistics portfolio.

Data centre developments require significant capital and can take years to complete. However, Goodman's experience, global relationships, and access to scarce locations put it in a strong position to participate in the growth of AI infrastructure.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport has become a more direct AI investment following its acquisition of Latitude.sh.

The company has traditionally helped businesses connect data centres, cloud platforms, and applications through its software-defined network. This connectivity becomes more important as AI workloads are spread across different locations and computing providers.

Latitude.sh adds the computing layer. Its bare-metal cloud platform allows developers to deploy dedicated physical servers, including graphics processing unit capacity for demanding AI workloads.

Megaport can now offer Compute as a Service through Latitude.sh and connect that hardware directly to its global network. Customers can access dedicated computing infrastructure and move their data between clouds, data centres, and applications through the same wider platform.

I think this could open a significant new opportunity for Megaport. The company is moving from connecting digital infrastructure to also providing some of the computing power that runs on it.

The acquisition still needs to be integrated successfully, and competition for AI computing customers will be intense. Even so, the combination gives Megaport more ways to benefit as companies invest in AI.

Foolish takeaway

AI spending is increasingly flowing into data centres, powered sites, computing capacity, and the networks connecting everything together.

NextDC, Goodman, and Megaport each provide exposure to a different part of that expansion. I would be comfortable buying all three ASX shares with the intention of holding them for many years.

The post How to invest in artificial intelligence on the ASX appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Strong results from the US hyperscalers have reminded investors that the spending cycle is still running hard.

That capital has to land somewhere physical, and a good deal of it lands here.

Why ASX AI shares are back in favour

The Australian market has limited direct exposure to AI chipmakers or model developers.

But what it does have is infrastructure.

Data centres need land, grid connections, buildings, cooling and networking. Each of those is a bottleneck, and bottlenecks should allow ASX AI shares to benefit from increased pricing power.

NextDC: the purest of the ASX AI shares

NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) is the closest thing on the ASX to a direct bet on AI infrastructure demand.

The company recently reported that pro forma contracted utilisation rose 11% to 740 megawatts.

What's more, UBS has a price target of $22.55 on the stock, against a recent price of $14.03.

Recent earnings give a sense of the scale involved.

NextDC maintained FY26 net revenue guidance of $390 million to $400 million and underlying EBITDA guidance of $230 million to $240 million. Contracted EBITDA from existing utilisation and the forward order book is expected to exceed $1 billion, more than four times that FY26 EBITDA guidance.

The catch is capital.

NextDC is carrying roughly $5 billion of forecast FY27 capital expenditure.

How the company executes on its CapEx plans will be a determining factor in the success of its share price.

Goodman Group: land, power and scale

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) plays a different role in the same story.

Data centres now account for 73% of its development pipeline, which was on track to reach $18 billion by June 2026.

Its real edge is a secured power bank of 6.4 gigawatts across 16 cities.

Grid access has become the primary constraint on data centre expansion worldwide.

Goodman assembled that position over years, and a newcomer cannot replicate Goodman's position quickly.

Morgans has a buy rating on Goodman shares with a $36 price target.

The trade-off is that Goodman carries heavy development commitments and, like any asset-heavy business, is sensitive to interest rate movements.

Megaport: the connectivity layer

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) sits between the other two.

The company provides the software-defined networking that connects enterprise customers to cloud platforms and data centres.

First-half FY26 revenue rose 26% to $134.9 million at a 72% gross margin. Operating earnings also grew 28% to $35.3 million, and net revenue retention came in at 111%.

Megaport has guided to FY26 revenue of $302 million to $317 million with an EBITDA margin of 21% to 24%.

The company connects roughly 3,000 enterprise customers to more than 1,000 data centres globally, which gives it a distribution footprint that would be slow and expensive for a competitor to rebuild from scratch.

In order for investors to validate the Megaport investment thesis, they will have to wait until full-year results are published on 20 August.

Foolish takeaway

These three ASX AI shares are exposed to the same underlying trend, but in very different ways.

NextDC offers the most direct leverage and carries the most capital risk.

Goodman offers scarcity and scale with a lower risk profile.

Megaport offers software margins on a much smaller base.

The obvious danger for all three is that global hyperscalers eventually decide the returns do not justify the capital outlay, and the market's patience with that spending has already proven fickle.

For now, though, the money is still being committed, and Australian infrastructure is benefiting.

The post Is the AI trade back? Here are the ASX shares that stand to benefit. appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.