ASX tech shares spent the early 2020s being described as the future of the local share market.

The scoreboard tells a different story.

The Betashares S&P/ASX Australian Technology ETF (ASX: ATEC), which tracks the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), traded at $22.37 five years ago.

Today it trades at approximately $22.69.

A $10,000 investment five years ago would have bought approximately 447 units.

Those 447 units are worth approximately $10,143 today.

That is a capital gain of roughly 1.4% over five full years, before distributions.

Distributions would add modestly to that figure, but the headline is unavoidable: on price alone, ASX tech investors have gone almost nowhere.

How ASX tech shares went nowhere so dramatically

The flat five-year result conceals extraordinary volatility.

ATEC returned 3.89% in 2021, then crashed 32.43% in 2022 as interest rates rose and growth valuations compressed violently.

It then recovered hard, gaining 34.91% in 2023 and 42.27% in 2024, before falling 10.60% in 2025 and dropping a further 12% so far in 2026.

The ETF now sits approximately 30% below its twelve-month high of $33.29.

Investors who bought and sold at the right moments in that cycle did extremely well.

Investors who simply held for five years captured none of it.

Here are some ASX tech shares that have defined the performance of this ETF over the last 5 years.

Xero a great business, a terrible entry price

Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) is one of ATEC’s largest holdings at approximately 9% of the fund.

Xero has fallen approximately 60% from its all-time high of $196.52.

The business itself has not deteriorated.

The FY2026 result delivered 31% revenue growth to $2.75 billion, with the US business surging 240% on the back of the Melio acquisition.

The decline is almost entirely a valuation story. At its peak, Xero traded at well over 100 times earnings. This multiple assumed years of uninterrupted growth and left no margin for the rate environment to change.

WiseTech Global: the index’s biggest destroyer of value

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) sits at approximately 5.7% of ATEC.

WiseTech was the worst performer in the entire ASX 200 in FY26, dropping 70% in value.

Unlike Xero, WiseTech’s collapse was not primarily about valuation.

It was about governance, driven by a series of allegations against founder Richard White, including an AFP investigation.

However, the CargoWise platform remains used by 23 of the world’s top 25 global freight forwarders, and WiseTech has maintained its FY26 guidance throughout the turmoil.

The business did not break, rather, investor trust did.

What this actually teaches investors

The lesson here is not “avoid technology.”

It is that entry valuation determines outcomes, and that concentration inside a narrow sector index can be punishing.

ATEC’s top ten holdings account for approximately 75% of the fund.

When two of the largest fall 60% and 70% respectively, nothing in the remaining holdings can offset that.

Over the same five-year window, an investor in a broader ASX 200 index fund would have collected years of dividends and franking credits while the tech index went sideways.

Foolish takeaway for ASX tech shares

$10,000 invested in ASX tech shares five years ago is worth approximately $10,143 today on a capital basis.

The businesses inside that index include some of the finest companies in Australia.

The prices investors paid for them in 2021 were the problem, not the businesses themselves.

For investors looking at today’s heavily discounted tech sector, that fact is worth considering.

The post Here’s what $10,000 invested in ASX tech shares 5 years ago would be worth now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Another CEO share sale has this ASX 100 tech stock sinking today
• Should I invest $2,500 into WiseTech shares?
• 10 fantastic ASX shares to buy for FY27
• Has the WiseTech share price finally hit the bottom after crashing 50%?

Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven 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 and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global and Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

When it comes to looking for outsized returns among ASX shares, it pays to check in with the professionals.

I’ve reviewed the reports coming out of the major broking houses and zeroed in on four from Canaccord Genuity, which profile companies that could do very well indeed.

Let’s see which companies they like at the moment.

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

Shares in Bravura jumped last week after the company delivered a better-than-expected earnings update for the past financial year.

The company said revenue would be within its previously guided range of $280 to $285 million, but cash EBITDA would be about $77 million, compared with previous guidance of $69 to $73 million.

Managing Director Colin Greenhill said the company had “continued to manage costs well whilst investing in core technology and exploring new initiatives”.

Canaccord Genuity said in its note to clients they believed cost management was the key to the result.

They said:

With costs very tightly managed in the half, we believe this positions BVS well entering FY27. With the new financial year potentially having lower project work, in our view, given FY26 featured work on the Aware and Telstra Super merger (of which Aware has labelled as completed), the potential for lower FY27 project revenue seems to be well managed by the cost-base being tightly managed.

The broker has a $2.73 price target on Bravura shares compared to $2.17 at the time of writing.

Light & Wonder Inc (ASX: LNW)

Canaccord Genuity said a recent share price pullback has Light & Wonder shares trading near 12-month lows, “and offering valuation constructs not seen in recent years”.

They added:

In addition, a widening of the discount to Aristocrat Leisure (ASX: ALL) has been apparent in recent months at levels not far from historic peaks. We remain attracted to the LNW thesis and consider the business to have a solid medium-term growth profile.

The broker has a $182 price target on Light & Wonder shares compared to $102.78 at the time of writing.

Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB)

This drug company recently reported its quarterly sales results for its flagship drug Ryoncil, notching up US$36 million for the quarter and US$115 million for the full year.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Silviu Itescu, said Mesoblast was anticipating continued revenue growth in the current financial year, “in line with momentum we are seeing across major U.S. paediatric centres”.

Canaccord Genuity said it viewed consensus estimates of US$180 to US$190 million in Ryoncil sales this year as ambitious, but still has a bullish share price target of $3.23, up from $2.34 at the time of writing.

Pantoro Gold Ltd (ASX: PNR)

Canaccord Genuity has a very bullish $4.20 share price target on this company, compared to the price of $2.04 at the time of writing, but stresses that this is a speculative buy for investors.

Pantoro missed production estimates for the June quarter, but Canaccord said the longer-term story was of interest.

PNR expects to release its 5-year production plan this quarter alongside its annual Resource and Reserve update, which we expect will incorporate the new high-grade underground zones being delineated by PNR’s extensive ongoing growth program. We note PNR has reaffirmed its long-term growth target of up to 200kozpa of production.

This compares to the current guidance for FY27 of 90,000 to 105,000 ounces of gold.

The post 4 ASX shares which could improve by 25% to more than 100% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Mesoblast shares could double in value
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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 Bravura Solutions and Light & Wonder Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Light & Wonder Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

If you are looking for big returns and have a high tolerance for risk, then read on.

That’s because listed below is one ASX share that Bell Potter believes could rocket higher over the next 12 months.

Which ASX All Ords share?

The share that has caught the eye of Bell Potter is Aroa Biosurgery Ltd (ASX: ARX).

It is a commercial stage medical device company that operates within the wound care and soft tissue reconstruction sector.

Bell Potter was pleased to see that the company has successfully completed a prospective randomised controlled trial for Symphony in diabetic foot ulcers.

It highlights that the “preliminary results [are] indicating the primary endpoint of complete wound closure at 12 weeks was met.”

This is good news because the Symphony product could have a billion-dollar market opportunity. It commented:

Although the full dataset remains due in Q3 FY27, the readout provides important clinical validation ahead of Symphony’s commercial launch and supports its positioning under a tougher coverage framework. That early validation arrives as the CY26 CMS reimbursement reset continues to disrupt the US skin substitute market. 

The new US$127.14/cm² flat rate has compressed the elevated pricing underpinning many legacy products, with Organogenesis and MiMedx both reporting wound-care revenue declines of at least 60% in Q1 CY26 and consensus expecting pressure to persist through the year. We estimate market size in outpatient care at greater than US$1b.

Time to buy

According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating and $1.09 price target on the ASX All Ords share. Based on its current share price of 58.5 cents, this implies potential upside of 86% for investors over the next 12 months.

Touching on its outlook and investment thesis, Bell Potter said:

Beyond the clinical readouts, 2H CY26 should bring further clarity on the reimbursement environment. Key watchpoints should include the final PFS and OPPS rules following CMS’s proposal to retain the current flat-rate methodology for CY27, while any revised DFU/VLU LCDs could further raise the evidence threshold and narrow the reimbursable product set. 

Investment thesis: Buy; TP $1.09 (unchanged) The Myriad growth story remains intact and the outlook for Symphony revenues continues to improve. We make no changes to earnings and maintain our Buy rating and PT of $1.09.

This could make Aroa Biosurgery worth considering if you are looking for exposure to the healthcare sector.

The post Which ASX All Ords share could rocket 90%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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