The first full month of 2025 is in the books, and the stock market is off to a decent start. The major indexes -- the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average -- were up 2.7%, 1.6%, and 4.7%, respectively.

In a change of pace from previous months, the Nasdaq took a back seat to the Dow, as sectors like financial services, energy, and industrials outperformed tech. Nevertheless, there were plenty of big winners in the Nasdaq-100. Here are the top five performers during the month of January. 18%

The top five

Below are the top five stocks in the Nasdaq-100 based on price performance between Jan. 1 and Feb. 1, 2025:

1. Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG), up 34%
2. Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM), up 29%
3. Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM), up 26%
4. Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), up 18%
5. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), up 18%

Two themes emerge from this list: artificial intelligence (AI) and better-than-expected earnings reports.

First off, artificial intelligence remained a winning theme. Constellation Energy, Arm Holdings, and Meta Platforms are tied to the AI sector through rising data centre energy demand, semiconductor design licensing, and AI implementation, respectively.

Meanwhile, shares of Atlassian surged after the company's fourth-quarter earnings release topped expectations, both in terms of results and forward guidance.

Finally, Starbucks also reported an upbeat earnings report. The company's new CEO, Brian Niccol, is working to turn around this iconic American brand, whose stock has underperformed the market for several years.

Are any of these stocks buys right now?

In short, yes, all of them are worth considering. That's because the catalysts that pushed these stocks higher in January remain in place. So, while they may not be suitable for every portfolio, growth-seeking investors would be wise to keep these stocks near the top of their watch list.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post These were the 5 top-performing stocks in the Nasdaq-100 in January 2025 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

For readers that haven't of this project before, the goal is to deliver what's being called the AAPowerLink which will provide "reliable, cost-competitive" electricity to customers in Darwin and Singapore.

There was recently a financial battle between Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) founder Andrew Forrest and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes to win control of the SunCable business after a disagreement about what the project should do.

Cannon-Brooke's entity, Grok Ventures, was eventually successful.

How much electricity will be generated and transmitted by SunCable?

The project has been organised into two areas.

The onshore part of the project will include what's expected to be the world's largest solar array, located in the Northern Territory. It will deliver electricity to Darwin as well as to third-party industrial power consumers in/near Darwin.

The international part of the business will be about delivering electricity through a sub-sea cable to "highly credit worthy global corporate offtakers in Singapore".

SunCable says that AAPowerLink will have the ability to deliver around 6GW of firmed renewable energy in multiple stages.

In the first stage, it's intended that at least 900MW will stay in Australia to supply large industrial customers, including those located in the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct in Darwin. SunCable mentioned that some of that power could be used to support hydrogen electrolysis, critical minerals processing, e-fuels and green data centres.

The first stage is also planning to see 1.75GW of electricity delivered to Singapore.

After that, an additional 3GW of renewable energy electricity is planned for customers in Darwin, bringing the total to almost 4GW.

What are the next steps?

SunCable said that its immediate priorities are to progress the required regulatory approvals to advance the AAPowerLink. It will lodge its submission to the Singaporean Energy Market Authority (EMA) later this month.

It's also going to continue to engage with the Indonesian government to obtain the required licence to lay subsea cable through its territorial waters. It's also going to work with the Australian federal government, Northern Territory government and the Traditional Owners of the project area.

SunCable also said it will establish an advanced High Voltage (HV) subsea cable manufacturing and testing facility, with AAPowerLink as an anchor customer. It's in discussions with established global subsea cable manufacturers to jointly develop, construct and operate this facility.

SunCable management commentary

Mike Cannon-Brookes said:

The green energy transition remains the greatest economic opportunity of our time.

SunCable's AAPowerLink project has all the component parts to make the next great Australian infrastructure initiative possible. It will create more local jobs and support our green manufacturing and renewable energy industries. It's set to deliver huge volumes of green energy to Darwin – powering a burgeoning green industry opportunity in the NT. ‍           

There's huge upside for both Australia and our neighbours, Singapore and Indonesia. We look forward to working with our partners across Asia to drive this.

The post SunCable to see the light of day again as Atlassian co-founder takes reigns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That's been helped in recent times by Cannon-Brookes' ongoing moving and shaking at AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL). But Atlassian is, for all intents and purposes, an American company. It's listed solely on the US NASDAQ exchange after all, with no ASX presence.

But even so, Atlassian could be having an outsized impact on ASX tech shares today.

This tech company has just had a shocker over on the US markets. Atlassian shares last closed at US$174.17 each. But that was during normal trading hours. Its after-hours performance was far bleaker. In after-hours trading, Atlassian shares were down a horrible 22.6% to just UD$134.73. That would be a loss of close to US$10 billion in market capitalisation. Ouch.

The catalyst for this precipitous drop appears to be a quarterly earnings update the company put out after the close of last night's US trading session.

Atlassian shares smashed on less-than-rosy outlook

Atlassian reported US$807.4 million in revenues for the three months to 30 September, up 31%. Gross profits also rose from US517.77 million to US$668 million. However, operating income fell from US$165.43 million to US$147.9 million.

But perhaps investors were more spooked about what Atlassian had to say about its outlook:

Last quarter, we shared that we saw a decrease in the rate of free instances converting to paid plans. That trend became more pronounced in Q1. This quarter, we started seeing a slowing in the rate of paid user growth from existing customers.

The above two trends are the result of companies tightening their belts and slowing their pace of hiring. In other words, Atlassian is not immune to broader macro impacts. Our outlook assumes these trends will persist…

Whatever the reasons, it is clear that investors were pretty put off by what Atlassian had to say.

So this could be why we are seeing some big gyrations in ASX tech shares today. As an Australian-run US tech company, Atlassian could be described as something of a north star for our own ASX tech shares.

Thus, it's perhaps no surprise that we saw companies like Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) get a pounding this morning. WiseTech was down by 2.2% at one stage, while Xero had lost 1.35%.

Both of these companies have since recovered. But even now, Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) and Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) are down by 3.8% and 2.9%, respectively.

Perhaps Atlassian is to blame.

The post US$10 billion was just wiped from the value of Atlassian. How are ASX 200 tech shares responding? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Published by The Australian, the annual rich list tracks the fortunes of tech entrepreneurs along with mining and property magnates.

Below, we take a look at the names who're hitting the charts and cementing their places as the country's most wealthy businesspeople.

Who makes up Australia's Top 5 Rich List?

The annual study, showing which Australians are making financial strides, tallied riches past the half a trillion dollar mark this year.

The average wealth of each person who made the cut stood at around $2.08 billion. The list included 131 billionaires.

Of the top 250 names, 30 were women and the average age of each individual was 65 years of age.

Here are the list's top five:

For the third consecutive year, Gina Rinehart took the mantle with an estimated wealth of $32.64 billion. Her source of wealth came from iron ore mining alongside investments in agriculture (beef) and media. She is the founding member of Pilbara iron ore mine Roy Hill.

In second position, and not far behind, Andrew Forrest has acquired $31.77 billion through his holding in ASX-listed Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG).

Furthermore, Forrest also owns cattle stations in outback Australia which supplement his income.

Moving into third spot, up from fourth last year, Anthony Pratt (and family) has $27.77 billion. Regarded as one of Australia's most generous businessmen, Pratt made his wealth from Visy Industries – a packaging, paper, and resource recovery company that employs more than 7,000 people worldwide.

Slipping in to fourth is Mike Cannon-Brookes who is co-founder and co-CEO of United States-based software giant Atlassian. His wealth came to $26.2 billion. Cannon-Brookes is often referred to as the 'accidental billionaire' given how he aimed to earn a mere $48,500 per year.

And, lastly, at number five, Cannon-Brooke's business partner Scott Farquhar is the other co-founder and co-CEO of Atlassian. His wealth is projected to be $25.99 billion.

The post Which ASX rich listers have grown their fortunes over the past year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What happened

Shares of Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM) fell 50.9% in the first half of 2022, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The Australia-based maker of project management and collaboration tools entered this period on a high note after gaining 217% in the previous two years, but that success made Atlassian's stock an easy target when market makers backed away from high-flying growth stocks.

So what

At the start of 2022, Atlassian shares changed hands at the lofty valuation of 117 times free cash flows and 40 times sales. Together with the aforementioned price gains in recent years, this rich valuation essentially painted a target on Atlassian's back. The stock was priced for perfection, and macroeconomic events were about to bring a lot more uncertainty and imperfection into the picture. 

The company did everything it could to support the expensive share prices. Atlassian crushed Wall Street's expectations across the board in January's and April's earnings reports, exceeding Wall Street's estimates by as much as 7% on the revenue line and 47% in terms of earnings. In the recently reported third quarter, top-line sales increased by 30% year over year as the number of paying customers rose by 25%. About 42% of third-quarter revenues was retained as free cash flows. Pick your favorite business metric and you'll probably find that Atlassian delivered robust results even in this challenging market environment.

But again, none of that mattered. Atlassian's shares were richly valued and ripe for a pullback. Macroeconomic concerns on a global scale provided plenty of inspiration for this correction.

Now what

The ironic part of this situation is that companies like Atlassian can help other businesses wring more business performance out of limited budgets. Hence, market slowdowns actually play right into this company's hands. Share prices are falling because Atlassian was seen as a risky investment in the spring of 2022. The reported results tell a very different story.

I agree that the stock still looks expensive today, trading at 64 times free cash flows and 19 times sales. However, that's a much more comfortable entry point than the even loftier valuation ratios seen six months ago. Shrewd investors might want to take advantage of this imbalance between winning business results and plunging stock prices. An Atlassian investment today should serve your portfolio well for years to come. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Atlassian stock fell 51% in the first half of 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

After all, we are a country known for its love of egalitarianism and occasional enforcement of the tall poppy syndrome.

But that doesn't change the fact that there is an enormous amount of wealth concentrated among our richest people.

Every year, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) catalogues our richest residents in its Rich List. Well, its latest edition has just been revealed, and it makes for some interesting reading. So let's check out our richest citizens, and what ASX shares they own (if any).

Australia's richest people revealed

Here are the current richest ten Aussies and what the AFR estimates are their net worth:

1. Gina Rinehart with a net worth of $34.02 billion, up from $31.06 billion in 2021
2. Andrew Forrest with a net worth of $30.72 billion, up from $27.25 billion in 2021
3. Mike Cannon-Brookes with a net worth of $27.83 billion, up from $20.18 billion in 2021
4. Scott Farquhar with a net worth of $26.41 billion, up from $20 billion in 2021
5. Anthony Pratt and family with a net worth of $24.3 billion, up from $20.09 billion in 2021
6. Harry Triguboff with a net worth of $21.25 billion, up from $17.27 billion in 2021
7. Clive Palmer with a net worth of $19.55 billion, up from $13.01 billion in 2021
8. Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht with a net worth of $13.8 billion, up from $7.98 billion in 2021
9. Ivan Glasenberg with a net worth of $12.2 billion, up from $7.39 billion in 2021
10. Frank Lowy with a net worth of $9.27 billion, up from $8.51 billion in 2021

So that's Australia's richest 10 people as it currently stands.

It's the third year Gina Rinehart has topped the list in a row, so she must be feeling pleased as punch.

However, according to the report, this is only due to the recent slump in the Atlassian plc (NASDAQ: TEAM) share price. Atlassian shares have fallen more than 50% over 2022 so far. If the company had stayed at its older valuations, co-founders Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar would be sitting at the top of the list today.

Why no ASX shares for the richest Aussies?

Interestingly though, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar are among only a few rich listers to actually derive their wealth from publically-listed shares. Atlassian trades on the US markets.

Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest is another one. His famous stake in Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) keeps him in second place. But Gina Rinehart's company Hancock Prospecting is private, meaning there are no ASX shares for mere mortals like you or me to trade alongside her with.

It's a similar story with Anthony Pratt's packaging and recycling giant Visy Industries, which is also private. And ditto with the tech company Canva, which was founded by married couple Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht.

Again, Clive Palmer (of recent political fame) derives most of his wealth from the private company Mineralogy. As does Harry Triguboff from private property giant Meriton.

It seems our richest people don't necessarily hold too much faith in owning large swathes of public ASX shares.

The post The richest Aussies revealed (and the ASX shares they own) appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Take Altium Limited (ASX: ALU). Altium shares are now down almost 28% over the year to date. Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) goes one step further with its near-40% slide this year so far. And Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) has given its investors a painful 75.5% drop since the start of the year.

Today is no different. This Tuesday has seen the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) lose another 1.27% so far. So with such losses already under the belt in 2022, many investors might be wondering when ASX tech shares will hit their bottom.

Well, according to reporting in the Australian Financial Review today, ASX tech investors should keep an eye on the US markets.

It's quarterly reporting season over in the US right now. Why does this matter? Well, ASX tech shares, in particular, often seem to take their cues from their US counterparts. So it might come as no surprise that the struggles of ASX tech shares have occurred almost in parallel with the US tech sector over the year so far.

US markets to boost ASX tech shares?

We've already seen some disastrous results, such as the ones from Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX). These sensationally saw the streaming giant lose close to 40% of its value last week. So it's perhaps no wonder our tech shares have been getting an extra dose of the jitters ever since.

But, according to the AFR report, investors hoping to see a bottom in the fall of ASX tech shares should keep watching the US markets this week. Over the next few days, we will see Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB), and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) report their quarterly earnings. Add in Australian software company Atlassian plc (NASDAQ: TEAM).

The AFR report quoted Wedbush analyst Dan Ives on the matter. Ives stated that he reckons Apple and Microsoft, in particular, will help investors prevail through what he sees as a "white knuckle moment" in the markets right now. Ives is expecting both Microsoft and Amazon to report strong growth in their cloud products, and Apple to report strong expected numbers from China.

This strong showing, he predicts, will help Wall Street see that "the 'feared slowdown' is more bark than bite at this point in the cycle".

No doubt that rosy prediction will be welcomed by many ASX tech share investors right now. But we shall have to wait and see if Ives's predictions are accurate.

The post Have ASX tech shares finally reached the bottom? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

According to some estimates, developed nations embraced more than 3 years' worth of technological advances in the latter half of 2020 alone.

One of COVID-19's biggest impacts was the mass closure of shared office space. This saw millions of workers eschew their former daily commutes and set up shop from home.

The work from home trend, in fact, grew so quickly and prevalent that it gained its own acronym, 'WFH'.

For investors, this rapid sea change in the way people worked (along with shopped and socialised) presented a unique opportunity to pick up technology shares that could help people through the transition.

We look at 5 of those shares, and their potential outlook, below.

Three tech shares connecting workers during COVID-19 restrictions

Employees of all levels accustomed to chatting face to face and signing documents in person found those basic activities banned following COVID-19 office closures.

To keep their businesses running and staff productive, management had little choice but to turn to technology. While many tech shares have done well since the onset of the pandemic, some have done better than others.

Josh Gilbert, market analyst at global online investment platform eToro, told The Motley Fool that, "Companies that have been able to help businesses run smoothly from home have benefited as they've seen their customer bases swell."

He points to Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM), Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ: ZM), and Docusign Inc (NASDAQ: DOCU) as three companies "which have explicitly benefited from the work from home (WFH) lifestyle".

Gilbert said, "Zoom's share price grew by around 400% last year, as most companies around the world moved to remote working and turned to online video conferencing to solve their communication issues".

Then there's Australian software company Atlassian, "that builds collaboration and remote working tools to help teams connect and increase productivity". Atlassian's share price is up 127% in the last year.

Docusign's software, among other things, enables organisations to manage electronic agreements in the Cloud with eSignatures. Docusign's share price gained around 200% in 2020.

Two tech shares protecting WFH data

The WFH shift driven by COVID-19 didn't just require better ways to communicate and exchange documents remotely. It also meant helping secure data that was now held on servers outside the head office.

As Gilbert told The Motley Fool, "An area most investors have overlooked is cybersecurity. With more staff than ever working outside of the office, internal cybersecurity procedures are being prioritised."

He said Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD) "the popular cybersecurity firm, set a record number of new customers in Q2 2021 at 1,660, with 81% growth year-over-year. Shares are also up 120% in the last year."

Then there's newly listed cybersecurity share SentinelOne Inc (NYSE: S), which went public in June.

According to Gilbert:

SentinelOne has already seen its share price jump around 60% in just a few months. In April 2021, Sentinel announced it had 4,700 customers, which grew by 74% from a year earlier. These numbers show a clear indication that businesses are spending more cash to protect their systems internally.

What's next for these COVID-19 outperformers?

With COVID-19 having helped drive these tech stocks' huge share price gains, forward looking investors are wondering how they'll fare once the impacts of the pandemic begin to fade.

Gilbert acknowledges that, "The stocks that have benefited the most, such as Zoom, will see a natural slow down when businesses begin to return to offices."

But he doesn't anticipate workers will simply revert to the way things were in 2019:

It's anticipated that the WFH lifestyle isn't likely to completely disappear. Businesses have learnt that employees can work successfully at home, so they are less likely to be sending staff on worldwide or national trips, unless completely necessary.

Gilbert adds, "Fundamentally, stocks such as Zoom and DocuSign have built great bases, and we can expect M&A activity from both businesses and further innovation from their product lines moving forward."

The post COVID-19 saw these 5 international tech shares boom…now what? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But could we just be seeing the start of the ASX tech revolution? My Fool colleague Mitchell Lawler reported this morning that the movers and shakers at Afterpay and fellow Aussie (albeit US-listed) tech company Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) have teamed up in a "push for Australia to become an irresistible hub for tech startups".

The best heads at Afterpay and Atlassian will be joined by the best and brightest from 22 other tech leaders to form the Tech Council of Australia (TCA). As well as Afterpay and Atlassian, the members of the new TCA include many ASX-listed tech companies. These include the likes of Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART), Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) and Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1). But it will also include some unlisted ASX tech players like Canva and SquarePeg. As well as some global tech titans like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google.

An ASX tech A-team

The council's board will reportedly be made up of Atlassian's Scott Farquhar, Mina Radhakrishnan from :Different, Afterpay's Anthony Eisen, and Canva co-founder Cliff Obrecht. And its chair will be Robyn Denholm, who is one of the most famous tech stewards in the world in her position as chair of Elon Musk's Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA).

So what does this 'A-team' of Aussie tech have in mind for the future of the ASX tech sector?

Well, according to a report from news.com.au, the TCA has 3 overarching goals:

• To "help position Australia as the startup capital of the world within 10 years"
• Aussie tech to employ 1 million people by 2025
• To grow the value of the Aussie tech industry to $250 billion by 2031

As my Fool colleague discussed this morning, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes reckons Aussie tech is worth around $167 billion today, so an increase to $250 billion would represent a meaningful expansion of the local tech sector. According to the news.com.au report, the TCA will aim to reach its goals by:

• supporting growth of, and investment in, Australia's tech sector
• generating more jobs
• helping develop regulation for new and emerging technologies, and
• taking on the responsibilities of not-for-profit organisation StartupAus

Good news indeed for any ASX tech investors out there today!

The post Aussie tech could grow to $250b. What does this mean for ASX tech shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

And the Australian-founded companies are not alone in their ambitious goal. Joining them is an all-star alliance comprising 24 iconic technology leaders, forming the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) on Wednesday.

The news arrives a week after ASX-listed Afterpay revealed its receipt of a $39 billion takeover offer from Square.

Putting Australian tech on the map

The formation of the TCA is a big step for the Australian technology sector.

Specifically, the Council is made up of 24 tech companies, including Google, Canva, Microsoft, Afterpay, and Atlassian. Its focus is to boost the growth of Australia's tech sector, support talent attraction and development, and work with regulators for a "tech-enabled economy".

Among other goals, the Council is emboldened to drive the sector above one million jobs by 2025. To do this, the team of tech titans aims to make Australia an irresistible location for tech startups to find their feet and flourish.

When it comes to the board of the TCA, it is certainly an impressive lineup. The Chair overseeing it is none other than Robyn Denholm. In addition to her newfound role with the TCA, Denholm is at the helm of illustrious electric vehicle maker Tesla.

Joining Denholm is Afterpay CEO Anthony Eisen, Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar, :Different co-Founder Mina Radhakrishnan, and Canva co-Founder Cliff Obrecht, among others.

Technology is integral to Australian economy

The announcement of the newly formed tech body arrives with a fresh report into the industry from Accenture.

In a tweet this morning, Atlassian co-Founder Mike Cannon-Brookes outlined a few notable findings. These included:

• Technology is currently the third highest contributor to Australia's gross domestic product (GDP), amounting to $167 billion.
• One in 16 Aussies work in the tech sector, making it Australia's seventh largest employer.
• Australia is third among OECD countries for businesses employing ICT specialists.

Furthermore, the report suggested that Australia is undergoing an economic shift not too dissimilar to globalisation. Putting that into context, software and app programmers are now more common than plumbers, hairdressers, or secondary school teachers.

Denholm explained that Australia is already showing signs of its potential tech prosperity, stating:

We now have many ambitious founders in Australia too, who have been very successful and, for me, that's a really important part of creating that multiple generational industry, that you can start small and take on big audacious goals.

Afterpay as an example on the ASX

The Aussie buy now, pay later player is an iconic example of the booming technology space arising on home shores. Starting out in 2014 as an idea of co-Founders Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen, Afterpay has gone from a small-cap to a $39 billion valuation in the space of 5 years.

In an interview with The Australian, Eisen relayed his take on the Aussie mission, stating:

It would be fair to say that a lot of people on the committee have seen first-hand what it's like to just have exceptionally talented ­people in Australia just work their guts out to have a place in the global scale. And it's really reflective of what Australian culture is all about. So being able to give that impetus and direction and ­momentum is entirely where everybody's coming from. ­Because the opportunities are very significant if you can capture it and everyone can get behind it.

Finally, at the time of writing, the Afterpay share price is fetching $133.39 on the ASX, down 0.66%.

The post Afterpay (ASX: APT) and Atlassian team up in Aussie tech push appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The surge in the Atlassian share price means Australian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are hot on the tails of spots 1 and 2 on the Australian rich list.

At the time of writing, the Atlassian share price is US$329.42 (A$444.90). This puts the estimated net worth of Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar at around A$25.85 billion each, excluding other ventures.

So what is driving this astonishing growth in wealth? Well, in the words of management, it was "a ripper" quarter.

Results that beat expectations

A quick look at the one-month chart shows how the Atlassian share price had been chilling between US$260 and US$270 for most of the month. That was until 29 July, when the company reported its Q4 FY21 results.

• Revenue increased 30% year over year (YOY) to US$560 million
• Gross profit increased 28% YOY to US$462 million
• Net loss narrowed to US$213 million compared to US$385 million in Q4 FY20
• Over 23,000 net new customers added during the quarter

The metrics contained in the company's quarterly report exceeded expectations. A strong focus on a cloud-first approach resulted in a more than doubling of cloud migrations year over year.

Likewise, the strong performance was underscored by Atlassian surpassing the 200,000 customers milestone and US$2 billion in revenue. A huge push towards cloud is leading the charge in growth for the company. In fact, cloud revenue increased 47% YOY as large customers make the shift.

Guidance for FY22 gave investors more optimism. The company put year-over-year subscription revenue growth estimates at the low-to-mid 40% range. Adding, "Subscription revenue will continue to be the primary driver of revenue growth."

What did management say?

Highlighting the accomplishments of the quarter, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar said:

There's a lot to celebrate, but we won't pause to party. Our sleeves are rolled up and we're keen to keep putting in the hard yards to seize the massive opportunities in front of us. Our job in FY22 is to keep building on our cloud migration momentum, invest to further strengthen our offerings so we can keep winning in our three addressable markets, forge human connections with each other as we figure out new ways of working in this digital-first world, and to just. keep. executing.

What's next for Atlassian?

According to the report, the company plans to continue investing heavily and playing offense in its markets. Atlassian still considers there to be many opportunities across agile development, IT service management, and work management tools.

As a consequence, gross margins are expected to decrease in FY22. This is due to the continued shift from server to cloud hosting. Similarly, operating margins and free cash flow will decline for the same reasons.

The Atlassian share price has delivered a return of 85.6% over the past 12 months. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has climbed 24% higher over the same timeframe.

The post The Atlassian share price is up 22% in the last month, here's why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Munro Partners head of investment Nick Griffin said tech shares have been sold down heavily in the recent rotation to value stocks.

But just because the share price has dipped, this doesn't mean certain businesses won't keep growing earnings.

"Inflation is going to change the re-rating or the de-rating of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)," he told a Livewire video.

"Yes, it will change the price we pay, but it won't change the fact that Amazon's earnings will continue to grow in the future. And in the long run, we expect their share price to follow their earnings and ultimately deliver the returns that we're looking for."

Hello, Australia is the crystal ball for the rest of the world

Griffin is particularly surprised by how much the cloud commuting subsector has been sold off.

"It's one of the bigger areas in our fund today," he said.

"They don't look optically cheap, but on cash flow metrics, they actually are not as expensive as what people think."

A major reason for this investor reticence is a post-COVID prediction that northern nations have made — that we Australians already know is completely wrong.

"There's been this assumption — and it's very much coming from the northern hemisphere — that COVID's going to go away and we're all going to go back to work."

Griffin's US and European colleagues have told him cloud computing usage will wane because work-from-home infrastructure won't be in as high demand as last year.

"We can say, look, we're calling you from the future here. We're here in Australia, there's no COVID and no one's going back to work. Work-from-home is somewhat here to stay," he said.

"The digital transformation got accelerated by COVID — and there's no reason to think it will slow down just because COVID goes away."

This is why Griffin reckons there's currently a major stock-buying opportunity for "some of the big winners in the next decade".

"Because it's fairly clear that a lot of these software solutions we're using for it — whether it be Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ: ZM) or Docusign Inc (NASDAQ: DOCU) or Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) products are going to be with us for a long time."

One of the beneficiaries from the demand for work-from-home technology, Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS), this week announced that it wouldn't force its own 26,000 employees to return to the office.

"There's an opportunity for employers to look forward and create a completely different vision of the workplace rather than trying to hold on to the past," Telstra executive Alex Badenoch told the Australian Financial Review.

"Every single one of our employees can have an element of choice about how they work, when they work and the kind of work they do."

The post Wake up world, this tech sector is the future: analyst appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That's according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR) Rich List, which is published annually.

The AFR has released a 'sneak peek' at the top 10 list before the entire thing is released on Friday.

It shows Rinehart coming in as the richest Aussie for the second year in a row, with a fortune of $31.06 billion. That's up a casual few billion from the $28.89 billion she was worth on the 2020 list.

Even more interesting is the fact Rinehart would have been worth more than $40 billion – three times the $13.8 billion she was worth in 2019 – if the analysis had been done earlier this month when iron ore was fetching a record high of US$240 per tonne. It's asking US$172 a tonne today.

Rinehart is the head of Hancock Prospecting, one of the few privately owned iron ore miners in the country.

Iron ore remains the best route to the top of the Rich List, it seems.

Taking the number 2 spot is Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) boss Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, with an estimated net worth of $27.25 billion.

That's also up substantially from the $23 billion he was worth in 2020.

Outside iron ore, the richest Aussies are…

Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar take the third and fifth spots, with net worths of $20.18 billion and $20 billion, respectively.

Anthony Pratt and the Pratt family are at number 4 with $10.09 billion. Pratt is head of the private packaging company Visy, which was founded by his late father Richard.

Property magnate Harry Triguboff, of Meriton, takes the sixth spot with an estimated net worth of $17.27 billion.

Clive Palmer is also featured at number 7. His net wealth is estimated at $13.01 billion, up substantially from 2020's $9.18 billion.

Hui Wing Mau, a Hong Kong property developer, is the only Rich Lister in the top 10 to see their net wealth fall in 2021.

He is still one of the richest Aussies in the country, worth $11.7 billion. But that's a hefty backwards step from the $18.06 billion he was worth in 2020.

Frank Lowy remains a top-10 fixture, long after his family's exit from the old Westfield family business. This is currently represented by both Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) on the ASX.

Finally, we have Canva founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht taking out the 10th spot. These billionaires are worth a collective $7.98 billion in 2021, well up from 2020's $3.43 billion.

Something to aspire to for the rest of us!

The post The richest Aussies have been revealed … so who makes the top 10? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Canva is one of the biggest Australian tech companies. According to a report from Forbes, this digital design company has just been valued at a whopping US$15 billion ($19.6 billion) after a recent funding round. It was sitting at a valuation of US$6 billion less than a year ago.

The new valuation was helped by the company reporting that it is profitable. It also reported that annualised revenues have grown beyond US$500 million. That's up 130% in a year. Canva now reportedly has 55 million users, including 3 million paying ones.

But unfortunately for ASX tech investors, Canva is not listed on the ASX. This company remains a private one, owned largely by its founders Melanie Perkins, Cameron Adams and Cliff Obrecht. As such, it's only institutional investors that are privy to owning shares. The report tells us that it's these investors that are pushing the valuation of Canva to new heights though.

The funding round that valued the company at US$15 billion reportedly resulted in Canva raising US$71 million in new funding. That came from a handful of big institutional investors, including fund managers T. Rowe Price, Blackbird Ventures and Dragoneer.

That new valuation has pushed the stakes that Canva's founders have to new heights as well. Ms Perkins and Mr Obrecht both own a little less than 15% each in the company after the funding round. That values their holdings at roughly $2 billion each.

Will Canva IPO on the ASX?

Despite this new valuation, which makes Canva more valuable than listed ASX tech companies Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) put together, there is no talk of an imminent ASX IPO for Canva.

But given the ASX's enthusiastic accommodation of Airtasker, which rocketed more than 80% when it IPOed last month, I'm sure its founders are thinking about it. If Canva did hit the ASX boards, it would immediately become one of ASX's most valuable tech companies.

But remember, we might not even see Canva on the ASX if it does decide to go public. Australia's largest tech company is theoretically Atlassian Corporation (NASDAQ: TEAM), which is currently valued at US$55.8 billion. But Atlassian decided to list on the US Nasdaq exchange when it IPOed back in 2015, rather than our ASX. Canva could well decide it's large enough to play in the big end of town now too.

The post Is Canva coming to the ASX? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This leaves the attention on who is pouring money into the company to make the hydro project possible. It appears Australian rich listers and Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are in the mix.

At the time of writing, the Genex share price is frozen in a trading halt at 27.5 cents per share on the ASX.

Funding a renewable future

The ASX-listed Genex Power share price remains halted as the company finalises the financing for stage 2 of its Kidston hub. As part of funding the $777 million hydro development, Genex Power tapped the market yesterday to source $115 million. Reportedly, Atlassian founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar substantially contributed.

Mike's wife Annie and her firm Grok Ventures, as well as Scott's wife Kim Jackson and her firm Skip Capital, were backers of the Genex Power capital raising. The funds will go towards constructing and bringing online a 250MW pumped storage hydro energy development.

Genex is one of the many companies investing in a renewable energy future. The Kidston clean energy hub already has established a 50MW solar firm that powers 26,000 homes and offsets 120,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Following the completion of stage 2, Genex plans to develop a further 150MW wind project and solar farm expansion.

The addition of Genex Power to the Grok Ventures portfolio fits alongside the numerous other renewable investments the private fund has made. Such investments include the world's largest solar energy infrastructure in the making, Sun Cable; and interest-free solar payment provider, Brighte.

When will Genex Power resume trading on the ASX?

Based on the capital-raising presentation, the institutional offer was conducted yesterday. The retail portion of the offer is expected to open on Tuesday 30 March and close on Friday 16 April. The trading halt should be lifted tomorrow, allowing the market to once again trade in the ASX-listed company.

However, a reminder for those hoping to squeeze into the capital raise, you'll need to already own shares. This is due to the ASX T+2 settlement, meaning it takes 2 business days for purchases to settle. Unfortunately, you need to be on the share registry prior to 7 pm Friday to participant in the capital raising. 

The post Genex Power (ASX:GNX) can count Atlassian founders as major backers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was the stock market leader throughout most of 2020, powering ahead to much greater gains than its fellow major benchmarks. In particular, high-growth stocks that were able to hold up well despite the recessionary conditions in the broader economy stood out as big winners and rewarded their shareholders handsomely.

However, that narrative has changed lately. As of 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday, the Nasdaq was down another 1.7%, building on losses that have taken the index into correction territory even as other benchmarks were at or near record highs. Moreover, it seems as though the Nasdaq is falling even though Fed chair Jerome Powell told investors Wednesday that the economy appeared to be in solid shape.

There's one possible answer for this apparent disconnect. If investors are actually paying attention to a common way of valuing high-growth stocks, then the Fed's nonchalance about a key impact that a stronger economy could bring might explain the near-panic among shareholders of those stocks.

More damage in Nasdaq high-growth stocks

To be clear, Thursday's declines weren't monumental by themselves. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), for instance, was down just 3%. MercadoLibre Inc (NASDAQ: MELI) saw a 4% slump, while Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ: ZM) lost 3% and Atlassian Corporation (NASDAQ: TEAM) took a 5% hit.

However, those declines are just the latest in a series of drops for these stocks and many like them. Tesla is trading about 25% lower than its all-time highs from just a couple months ago. Zoom has given up roughly 40% from its record levels late last year. The move seems to reveal skepticism about whether the growth stocks have seen their shares rise too far, too quickly.

What the Fed has to do with high-growth stocks

It might seem as though the Federal Reserve's actions wouldn't necessarily have any impact on high-growth stocks. Investor interest in these companies has been so high that access to capital hasn't been a problem. Many of them have more than enough cash to make it through tough times in the future, and some of them are even cash-flow positive and can sustain themselves simply by maintaining current business levels.

However, the recent rise in interest rates due to inflationary fears has been troubling to investors. One potential impact is that if you value a company based on the discounted value of its future financial results, then higher interest rates make the performance that comes further into the future less valuable. With rates at zero, it almost doesn't matter from a valuation standpoint whether a company makes money now or five years from now, and low rates reward companies that defer smaller profits now in favour of larger profits later. That's been the basis for the huge run-ups in these stocks.

Higher interest rates reverse that trend. Suddenly, companies will get rewarded for producing results now rather than later. Valuations on companies that will take years to play out will take a hit.

Seize the opportunity

For long-term investors, that actually might be good news. It would signal that the Nasdaq stock price declines aren't about fears that companies aren't going to be able to live up to their full potential. Rather, it just reduces the value put on those same strong future results.

If you can get the same strong business at a discount, you should jump at the chance. That's the advantage long-term investors have, and now's the time to look closely at some of the stocks the rest of the market is giving up on.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why are the Nasdaq's highest-growth stocks panicking about a strong economy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The billionaire co-founder of the buy now, pay later (BNPL) behemoth stressed Australia's need for an environment conducive to tech success.

Afterpay is proof it can be done

Australia really is a beautiful place, but both Anthony Eisen and Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)'s CEO Steve Amos think it could so much more in terms of technology.

In the past, some have argued that Australia lacks the talent to make the investment worthwhile. However, Eisen strongly disagrees with that notion, stating "What Australia lacks is not the talent, just the experience. When you are creating global platforms, getting the experience level in the country is a real key enabler."

Eisen pointed to examples such as Silicon Valley and explained that these are not simply geographic destinations for tech success, rather they are mindsets.

Afterpay's success was used as an example by Eisen to demonstrate that tech success at a global scale can be achieved right here in Australia. The co-founder added that government and industry support is needed for it to become a consistent occurrence.

Despite massive fluctuations in the Afterpay share price, the company has expanded throughout the world in just a matter of years. The progress likely wouldn't have been possible if Australian regulators and/or the government blocked its rollout locally.

Could it already be in the works?

Encouragingly, in June last year plans were announced to develop an ambitious 40 storey tech-hub tower in Sydney. The development should commence by June this year. It has attracted the backing of Australian-founded Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM). However, the building isn't expected to be completed until 2025.

The desire for a local tech presence is not driven solely by egoism either. After decades of propagating globalism, many countries are beginning to shift towards a more 'in-house' approach. A move that is largely due to security concerns.

As reported by The Australian, Aussie tech hub instigator Alex Scandurra is leading the charge through his company Stone & Chalk. Recently, the not-for-profit fintech hub operator merged with the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network. Scandurra commented, "Increasingly we need to be able to develop companies in Australia as opposed to buying from overseas suppliers and vendors."

Foolish takeaway

Now could be the best time for governments to invest in building tech hubs, given the high levels of unemployment still experienced in Australia. Afterpay's success proves that Australia can be at the forefront of technology leaders. Meanwhile, the growing market in cybersecurity offers further opportunities for local success. 

Will the Afterpay success story continue as Paypal confronts the Australian BNPL market? Only time will tell.

The post Could Australia be the next tech hub? Afterpay (ASX:APT) CEO thinks it should be appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Now that may sound like I'm stating the obvious. But the truth is a billion is such a mind-bogglingly large number it's hard to really wrap your brain around. That's why you generally see it written out as '$1 billion' rather than $1,000,000,000.

So let's break it down.

We all have a pretty good idea of what $1 million can get us. In Australia that would be a decent house in most capital city neighbourhoods. Or an exceptional house and property in most regional areas.

So $1 billion, then, would get you 1,000 of those houses.

And $29 billion – or $29,000,000,000 – would get you 29,000 of those houses. Enough to live in a different million-dollar home, every day, for more than 79 years.

Like I said. A mind bogglingly large number.

Yet for Gina Rhinehart, $29 billion (or $28.9 billion, to be more precise) is the number she sees listed for her wealth.

That's according to the latest Australian Financial Review (AFR) Rich List, which reports Rhinehart's wealth more than doubled – up 109% – since last year.

How did she achieve that?

Below we take a look at some of the 'billionaire trends' Rhinehart and a few other top rich-listers rode this past year to ever greater wealth.

It may not be shiny, but…

When it comes to this year's billionaire-making trends, you can't beat iron ore.

The iron ore price has been choppily trending higher since hitting lows of US$40 per tonne in December 2015. And it received a big boost this year from, of all things, the coronavirus pandemic.

First, the virus has hampered new supply from Brazil as mining operations were forced to close. And second, demand ramped up as China and other developed nations launch – or plan to launch – major infrastructure projects to bolster their virus weakened economies. (Iron ore is a core ingredient in making steel.)

This has seen the price rise from US$74 per tonne 6 months ago to US$120 per tonne today, a gain of 62%.

It was also a boon for Rhinehart's Roy Hill mine and her company, Hancock Prospecting. According to IBISWorld, Hancock Prospecting notched up almost $11 billion (there's that number again) in revenue, making it Australia's biggest private company.

While you can't buy shares of Rhinehart's iron ore operations on the ASX, you can buy shares of the company founded by Australia's second richest person, Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest. His net wealth leapt 189% over the past year, to $23 billion.

Forrest's shares in Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) – part of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) – helped drive that momentous growth.

Over the past 12 months, Fortescue's share price is up 94%. And it pays an annual dividend yield of 10%.

According to the AFR, Forrest's wealth grew as much as $500 million per week at one stage this past year.

Oh, and he collected $2 billion in dividends.

A growing, under the radar wealth trend

Both Forrest and Rhinehart also have extensive agricultural property portfolios.

Rhinehart is not only Australia's wealthiest person, she's also the nation's biggest private landowner. And Forrest has continued to expand his own agricultural holdings this year, along with aquaculture where he plans to become a major producer of oysters.

While both of these multi-billionaires' agricultural ventures remain private, ASX investors have a number of options for investing in Australia's agricultural sector.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF), for example, owns a range of quality Australian agricultural properties, including cattle ranches, almond farms, vineyards and sugar plantations.

Rural Funds' share price is up 34% over the past 12 months. At the current share price, it pays an annual dividend yield of 3.5%.

Between the click and the collect

Coming in at number 3 on the AFR's rich list is Anthony Pratt "and family". The Visy Industries founder's wealth surged 27% over the last year to reach $15.6 billion. Visy is one of the world's largest privately owned paper, packaging and recycling companies.

Just as with the price of iron ore, a large part of Pratt's success over the 12 months can be attributed to the pandemic. That's because people working and shopping from home has ushered in a rapid growth in e-commerce. And after you click on the item you want to buy it needs to be packaged before it gets sent.

Visy Industries is a private company. But ASX investors wanting exposure to the packaging business could consider Amcor Limited (ASX: AMC). Headquartered in Melbourne, Amcor is a global packaging company operating across Australasia, North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Amcor's share price is up 8% over the last 12 months. It pays a dividend yield of 2.5%.

Tapping into the future

Coming in at number 4 and number 5 on the rich list are Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar. Both men are co-founders of US-listed, Australian software company Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM).

Cannon-Brookes wealth grew by 73% over the year to reach $16.9 billion. Farquhar's wealth grew by 71% to reach $9.6 billion.

Atlassian's share price has soared 69% over the past year, giving the company a market cap of more than $52 billion.

The already rapidly growing technology sector was also given a boost by the outbreak of the global pandemic. And while some share prices may be looking stretched, technology continues to evolve at an increasingly rapid pace.

That should help support the share prices of technology companies, like Atlassian.

The post How ASX investors can capture these 'billionaire trends' appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Despite Atlassian's American roots these days, reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) this week gives us a rare insight into the fortunes of Mr Cannon-Brookes. Let's take a look.

Like many successful entrepreneurs and investors, Cannon-Brookes has looked to diversify away from his core pillar of wealth in Atlassian shares. According to the AFR, Cannon-Brookes has a family office by the name of Grok Ventures. Grok employs Armina Rosenberg as a global equities portfolio manager (a stockpicker) to help in this endeavour.

According to the AFR, Ms Rosenberg has built a globally diverse portfolio for Mr Cannon-Brookes and his family – naturally dominated by tech stocks.

A look into Mike Cannon-Brookes' share portfolio

Among his largest holdings are reportedly tech giants like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA). But one of Ms Rosenberg's favourite current picks – tech wunderkind Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ: ZM) – is noted by the AFR as a 'controversial pick'. Why? Well, Zoom has become a poster child for what some commentators call a 'tech bubble'.

No one questions that Zoom has been one of 2020's biggest winners in terms of the dramatic shift to working from home and remote communication. But Zoom's stock performance in 2020 has raised some eyebrows, perhaps understandably. Zoom shares started 2020 at just US$68.22. But today, they trade for US$517.79 (up 653% year to date) and have a 52-week high of $588.84. On the current share price, Zoom boasts a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 661.

But according to the AFR, that valuation doesn't bother Ms Rosenberg, who managed to invest in Zoom at its initial public offering (IPO) for US$36 a share, in the slightest. Labelling Zoom CEO 'one of the best founders [I] have ever met", Ms Rosenberg had this to say on the company:

Everyone thought that video-conferencing was commoditised, and to a large extent it was. But Eric saw all the challenges people had with existing options given he worked at Webex, so he knew that Zoom's unique selling proposition had to be its technology.

Foolish takeaway

In my opinion, ordinary investors like you and me shouldn't take too much guidance from the portfolios of billionaires like Mike Cannon-Brookes. Remember, Mr Cannon-Brookes is probably attempting to diversify his wealth rather than building it with his stock portfolio. Even so, I still think knowing where the wealthy have their money is a very useful tool for becoming a better investor.

The post A look into Mike Cannon-Brookes' share portfolio appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The index most symbolic of the digital world, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC), has still gained 17% this year and 56% since the COVID-19 crash in March.

And private tech companies have taken notice, announcing plans to float while the sentiment is positive.

Snowflake Inc (NYSE: SNOW), for example, went public last week then doubled its price on the first day. And plenty of Australian investors bought in.

On Friday Australian time, it's still 89% up on its initial public offer (IPO) price of US$120.

The Motley Fool spoke to Stake founder and chief executive, Matt Leibowitz, about five more US tech companies that are about to undergo an IPO.

Airbnb

This is the brand most familiar to Australians, and no doubt many would already be customers.

Speculation has been rife for a couple of years about Airbnb going public. It's an iconic internet startup that contributed to the creation of the term "unicorn".

The accommodation platform reportedly planned to float in March. But then COVID-19 struck and killed off the entire travel sector.

Now there are reports that it had confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the US corporate regulator in August.

While it's dawdled, the company's valuation has gone from US$31 billion in 2017 to US$18 billion when it raised private funds in April.

Leibowitz isn't so sure that the IPO will happen this year.

"It may get pushed back," he told The Motley Fool.

"A lot of these businesses are loss-making, so it's really just about biding their time until they list."

The still COVID-depressed travel sector meant that, despite its famous name, the company has some work to do before going public.

"Where they are right now as a business, they're going to have to redo a bit of trust in terms of making it look more exciting."

DoorDash

This is another brand that Australians would recognise. DoorDash started to deliver food in the country late last year after running for six years in North America.

There have been reports the company plans to float in the final quarter of this year.

Leibowitz said it's hard to judge DoorDash's merit as it hadn't yet publicly revealed its finances.

"We've seen them grow pretty quickly in Australia," he said.

"These guys are moving ahead quicker than Airbnb are… Home delivery of food is massive."

With companies like DoorDash that are in very competitive markets, Leibowitz said the moat isn't always clear.

"You saw with Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) and Lyft Inc (NASDAQ: LYFT). You saw what Uber's price did post-IPO — it took a bit of a dive."

Palantir

Entrepreneur, Peter Thiel, has become infamous in recent years as a Donald Trump supporter. But in the late 1990s, he co-founded Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) along with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) boss Elon Musk.

Palantir is a big data analytics company Thiel co-founded in 2003. Its debut on the market is scheduled for Wednesday night (30 September) Australian time.

Because its clientele is defence and intelligence agencies, there is a certain amount of mystery behind its products and how they work.

"The CIA was one of the earliest investors in Palantir… The CIA has made an absolute fortune," said Leibowitz.

"This is going to be a very, very interesting IPO."

As a direct listing, there is no fixed share price to start with and the market demand will determine it.

The Wall Street Journal's sources have reported an estimate of around US$10 a share, which would give it a market valuation of almost US$22 billion.

Wish

Wish is a discount e-commerce site, which Australians might pejoratively call a "$2 shop".

The online store doesn't operate in Australia. But the name might be most familiar to local basketball fans as the jersey sponsor of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The company filed IPO papers at the end of August.

"Shopping company with aggressive marketing, very popular in the US… They're looking at a valuation between US$6 to US$8 billion," Leibowitz said.

"I think their valuation is actually higher than what they're listing at."

Asana

Asana produces software that helps corporate teams manage their work.

Like Palantir, it has a good pedigree — Facebook, Inc (NASDAQ: FB) co-founder Dustin Moskovitz co-founded Asana in 2008. 

And also like Palantir, it will first appear on the market Wednesday night (30 September) Australian time.

"It sort of competes with Australia's Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM)," said Leibowitz.

"You'd know about it if you worked in tech-based businesses where they need project management."

The Motley Fool US reports Asana counts 30% of the Fortune 500 as clients, and that for the quarter ending June, it posted a 57% year-on-year revenue increase.

"I'm impressed with all that this company has going for it and will be starting a position once shares become available to the public," reported The Motley Fool US' Brian Withers.

The post Airbnb, DoorDash and 3 more new tech shares for Aussies to consider appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.