ASX healthcare shares have tested investors’ patience in recent years.

Some former market favourites have fallen out of favour as growth expectations, margins, valuations, and sentiment have all been reassessed.

But healthcare is still one of the most attractive long-term sectors on the market.

Demand is supported by ageing populations, chronic disease, medical innovation, and the simple reality that people do not stop needing treatment when the economy slows.

Two ASX healthcare shares that could be worth buying with a long-term view are in this article.

CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL)

The first ASX healthcare share to look at is biotech giant CSL.

It has been through a difficult period, with investors becoming far more cautious on its earnings outlook and growth profile.

But it could be worth sticking with the company. CSL is a global leader in plasma therapies, with products used across areas such as immunology and haematology. It also has exposure to vaccines and iron deficiency through other parts of the group.

This gives the company a broad healthcare platform, rather than a single product or single treatment market.

The plasma business is particularly important. It requires collection centres, manufacturing expertise, regulatory approvals, scale, and deep relationships across healthcare systems. These are not easy advantages for competitors to replicate quickly.

That does not mean CSL will rebound immediately. Management still needs to restore confidence, improve execution, and prove that its earnings base can grow again. But for patient investors, this is where the opportunity may sit.

If CSL can stabilise its performance and return to sustainable earnings growth, the current period of weakness could eventually look like a major reset in a high-quality healthcare business.

ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD)

Another ASX healthcare share that could be a great long-term buy is ResMed.

It is a global leader in sleep apnoea treatment and connected respiratory care.

ResMed’s products help patients breathe better and manage sleep-related breathing disorders. This includes devices, masks, accessories, software, and digital tools that support ongoing treatment.

The long-term opportunity is significant. Sleep apnoea is significantly underdiagnosed in many markets, but awareness of sleep health continues to grow. As more people are tested and treated, demand for ResMed’s devices and consumables could continue expanding.

So, with its shares down heavily from their highs, now could be an opportune time to invest with a long term view.

Why patience is important

CSL and ResMed are very different companies, but they share some important qualities.

Both operate in global healthcare markets, both have built strong positions over many years, both provide products that address real medical needs, and both have the potential to benefit from long-term demand rather than short-term consumer trends.

The challenge is that healthcare investing often requires patience.

Earnings growth can be uneven, sentiment can change quickly, and operational setbacks can take time to fix. Investors who buy these shares need to be willing to look beyond the next result and focus on the quality of the businesses over a longer horizon.

For patient investors, that could make CSL and ResMed shares very interesting opportunities right now.

They may take time to recover, but their global market positions, healthcare exposure, and long-term demand drivers could make them great ASX shares to buy and hold for the years ahead.

The post Should I buy CSL and ResMed shares right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in CSL and ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL and ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU) share price is in focus after the company secured its first binding, multi-year offtake agreement for magnet rare earth oxides, promising minimum revenue of US$155 million over four years.

What did Iluka Resources report?

• Signed a binding, multi-year offtake agreement with a global automotive company
• Agreement covers supply of around 1,200 tonnes of magnet rare earth oxides (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb) over four years
• Commences in 2028, in line with Eneabba refinery commissioning and ramp up
• Minimum revenue of US$155 million under the take-or-pay terms; potential for US$172 million if industry prices hold
• Volumes represent about 10% of Iluka’s planned rare earths output for the period

What else do investors need to know?

Iluka’s agreement sets pricing at the higher of minimum or market-linked prices for each product, boosting revenue security while keeping upside if prices rise. The contract signals early commercial confidence in Eneabba, which is now over 50% complete and scheduled for commissioning in 2027.

The deal covers both light and heavy magnet rare earth oxides and is with a ‘globally recognised automotive company’—though the customer’s name remains confidential. The company notes that talks with other potential buyers are ongoing, which could further underpin future sales.

What did Iluka Resources management say?

Managing Director Tom O’Leary said:

Iluka’s offtake agreement marks a particularly important milestone in the development of our rare earths business. Our first rare earths customer is a globally recognised automotive company and I am delighted that Iluka has been entrusted to deliver refined critical minerals as part of its supply chain. We look forward to a collaborative and successful partnership.

Beyond being Iluka’s first, the agreement is significant in that it encompasses the full suite of light and heavy magnet rare earth oxides and contains minimum prices agreed between commercial parties that are independent of those backed by governments.

One year out from commissioning, Iluka’s rare earth oxides have been procured by an end-use customer in a likeminded nation. This demonstrates increasing recognition of Iluka’s position as a credible, vertically integrated supplier, with diverse feedstock sources spanning internal operations and third-parties. Discussions with other prospective customers are ongoing.

What’s next for Iluka Resources?

With this offtake agreement in place, Iluka’s rare earths business edges closer to first production from the Eneabba refinery in 2027 and initial deliveries from 2028. Management continues to engage with more potential customers and aims to further diversify its rare earths sales.

The company is also progressing plans to ramp up production using additional feedstocks in future years, which would grow the Eneabba refinery’s capacity beyond current plans, strengthening its competitive position in critical minerals supply.

Iluka Resources share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Iluka Resources shares have risen 138%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 4% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Iluka Resources signs multi-year rare earths supply deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart 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. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

Owning National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares has usually been a very useful choice for dividends over the years. Experts think the ASX bank share could continue to deliver pleasing passive income.

As an already-huge bank, the company does not have rapid growth prospects. The ASX bank share is able to send a lot of its profit each year to investors because there are not many places for the bank to invest for a good return. This results in a relatively low price/earnings (P/E) ratio.

Therefore, the business is able to support a generous dividend payout ratio for shareholders.

So, let’s look at projections on how generous the bank may be.

FY26

We’re more than halfway through the NAB 2026 financial year, which ends in September 2026, rather than June.

The ASX bank share has already told investors about its FY26 half-year result, which saw the bank report statutory net profit of $2.75 billion and underlying cash earnings of $3.6 billion. That represents 0.1% growth year-over-year and 2.3% growth half over half.

The bank reported that its growth was driven by its business and private banking segment, which delivered 9.9% cash earnings growth to $1.85 billion, thanks to lending volume growth, broadly stable margins and improved markets and fee income.

Within that result, NAB decided to maintain its dividend per share at 85 cents. That’s understandable considering underlying cash profit moved very little.

One of the biggest problems for the ASX bank share was its credit impairment charge of $706 million, partially as a result of potential stress related to the Middle East conflict.

In terms of the potential dividend for the 2026 financial year, the forecast on Commsec suggests the ASX bank share could pay an annual payout of $1.70 in FY26. That translates into a possible grossed-up dividend yield of 6.4%, including franking credits, at the time of writing.

That’s a solid level of passive income compared to many other passive income options, in my opinion.

FY27

The next financial year could be particularly interesting for investors, considering all of the global impacts on the economy and how interest rate changes could impact profitability.

According to the forecast on Commsec, the business could deliver a slightly higher annual dividend per share of $1.72. That translates into a potential grossed-up dividend yield of 6.5%, including franking credits, at the time of writing.

The projections also suggest the bank could deliver higher earnings per share (EPS) in both FY26 and FY27. The forecasts would put the NAB share price at under 15x FY27’s estimated earnings, at the time of writing, according to Commsec.

The collation of analyst opinions on NAB shares suggests there are currently two buy ratings, five sell ratings and nine hold ratings on the business.

Therefore, there could be better opportunities out there than NAB shares.

The post Here’s the dividend forecast out to 2027 for NAB shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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.