Why I’m buying WiseTech shares before the market catches on

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) has been one of the most frustrating shares on the ASX over the past year.

The stock closed on Friday at $37.69, down around 45% in 2026 and almost 60% over the past 12 months.

There’s obviously been plenty going on, and investors have had more than enough reasons to stay cautious.

But after such a big fall, I think the market may have gone too far the other way.

When I look past the noise, I still see one of the strongest software businesses on the ASX.

And there are a few things in particular that make me think WiseTech shares could look very different 12 months from now.

Margins are climbing

At first glance, WiseTech’s FY27 guidance probably isn’t going to get too many investors excited.

Revenue is expected to grow by 6% to 10%, which is a bit slower than what investors have become used to seeing from the company.

But the earnings outlook looks a lot better.

Underlying EBITDA is expected to rise by 12% to 21%, while margins are forecast to improve from 46% in FY26 to between 49% and 51%.

WiseTech said it has also already delivered around US$115 million in annualised cost savings, including US$64 million from e2open.

That gives the company a good base to work from heading into FY27.

More growth to come

There was another part of WiseTech’s result that caught my attention.

At 30 June, 61 large global freight forwarders had CargoWise either in production or under contract.

Of those, 12 were still being rolled out, with less than 25% of their expected users currently live.

So, there is still a decent amount of growth to come from customers WiseTech has already signed.

Customer attrition has remained below 1% in each of the past 14 financial years, while more than 90% of customer cohorts grew operational revenue in FY26.

To me, that makes the growth outlook look a lot better than the headline revenue guidance might suggest.

AI could be huge

AI is another part of the WiseTech story that I think could become a much bigger deal over time.

More than 75% of the company’s team is already using AI, while engineering productivity has increased by 45%.

WiseTech believes its AI tools could eventually reduce labour costs for logistics providers by as much as 50%.

Even a 10% reduction could save some of its largest freight forwarding customers around US$180 million to US$300 million a year.

If WiseTech can deliver even part of that, I think it could make CargoWise a lot more valuable to customers and open up another huge growth opportunity.

Why I think the shares could rocket

There’s also a lot to like about the financial position WiseTech is heading into FY27 with.

The company generated US$410.7 million of free cash flow in FY26, while net leverage is expected to fall from 2.7 times to around 2.2 times by the end of FY27.

Add improving margins, more CargoWise rollouts and the potential from AI, and I think there is plenty that could go right over the next year.

A move back into the mid $50’s would mean roughly 50% upside from here.

I don’t think that looks unrealistic if WiseTech can deliver on its FY27 targets and win some investor confidence back.

That’s why I’m happy to buy at these levels.

The post Why I’m buying WiseTech shares before the market catches on appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• 9 ASX shares downgraded by experts post-results this week
• Down another 18%: Why I’d buy WiseTech shares in the dip
• Where could the WiseTech share price be in 12 months?
• 40 ASX shares with ex-dividend dates next week

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.