The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price has been an excellent performer over the long term. This year, it’s up 22%; over the past three years, it’s up 50%; and over the past decade, it’s up around 200%, at the time of writing.

The business has four divisions – Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), banking and financial services (BFS), commodities and global markets (CGM), and Macquarie Capital (investment banking).

Some of those divisions are quite cyclical/volatile, but the BFS division is growing rapidly in each result, which is a great sign of success. It’s quickly growing to challenge National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) in scale.

Let’s look at what experts think could happen with the Macquarie share price in the year ahead and how the business is performing.

Analyst projections for the Macquarie share price

Excitingly, experts are expecting the ASX financial share to rise from here.

According to CMC Invest, there have been 9 analyst ratings in the last 3 months. Six of those ratings calls were a buy rating and three were a hold rating.

Those analysts each issued a price target. A price target tells investors where the analyst thinks the share price will go in the next 12 months. Of course, this is not a guaranteed return; it’s just a projection.

The average price target of those nine ratings calls is $267.99. At the time of writing, that implies a possible rise of around 7% over the next year. When you add in the projected dividend yield of 3% (excluding franking credits), the total return could be around 10%, according to CMC Invest.

From those nine analysts, the most optimistic price target is $301.73, implying a possible rise of 21% over the next year (at the time of writing).

The most pessimistic Macquarie share price target is $241.38, suggesting a possible decline of 3% over the next 12 months.

How is the ASX financial share performing?

The latest update from the business was the first quarter of FY27, being the three months to 30 June 2026.

The Macquarie Asset Management division reported it had $748 billion in assets under management (AUM) at June 2026, up 4% compared to 31 March 2026, primarily driven by increased net asset valuations, favourable market movements, and positive net flows.

BFS saw its deposits grow 4% quarter over quarter to $223.3 billion at 30 June 2026. The home loan portfolio grew 6% quarter over quarter to $191.5 billion. Finally, the business banking loan portfolio improved by 3% quarter over quarter to $18.7 billion. Those are strong growth trends on an annualised basis.

The CGM division saw a higher quarterly profit year over year, thanks to increased trading activity in North American Gas and Power.

The ASX financial share said that Macquarie Capital had higher investment-related and brokerage income. At 30 June 2026, the private credit portfolio of $27.2 billion was in line with 31 March 2026, and the equity portfolio was $5.1 billion, broadly in line with 31 March 2026.

According to CMC Invest, the Macquarie share price is valued at 18 times FY27’s estimated earnings. It seems like the company has a positive future, but there could be even stronger returns available with other ASX shares.

The post How much could the Macquarie share price rise in the next year? 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 positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Arena REIT (ASX: ARF) share price is in focus after the real estate investment trust provided an update on the administration process for tenant Edge Early Learning. Arena is currently receiving rent on all 27 centres it owns and leases to Edge, with major developments underway regarding future lease arrangements.

What did Arena REIT report?

• Goodstart Early Learning has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire 31 business operations from Edge Early Learning.
• 20 of Arena’s 27 Edge-leased centres are included in the proposed transaction.
• Rent continues to be received on all 27 Arena-owned Edge centres.
• Arena holds bank guarantees and security deposits of approximately $4 million for the Edge portfolio.
• Due diligence and final agreements on lease assignments are in progress.

What else do investors need to know?

Arena says the proposed transfer of Edge centres to Goodstart is still subject to ongoing due diligence and final agreement between all parties. Arena is actively involved in reviewing the transaction as it decides whether to consent to the assignment of leases.

The sale of Edge’s remaining 33 centres, which includes seven still leased from Arena, is being pursued separately. Arena is engaging closely with the appointed Administrator and has reassured investors it continues to proactively seek the best long-term outcome for its securityholders.

What’s next for Arena REIT?

Arena REIT will provide another update once there is more certainty regarding the outcomes of the lease assignments and the future of the remaining Edge-operated centres. The company continues to reserve all legal rights concerning the portfolio, underlining a measured approach as it works to protect investors’ interests.

The group will maintain its focus on maximising long-term value across its social infrastructure real estate and intends to keep engaging constructively with all stakeholders as the process unfolds.

Arena REIT share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Arena REIT shares have declined 38%, trailing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has declined 3% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Arena REIT shares in focus as Edge Early Learning lease update issued 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.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) shares have had an extraordinary run in 2026.

The stock is trading around $21.12 on Wednesday, up over 75% for the year after investors responded enthusiastically to a string of major artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure deals.

Does this mean Megaport shares are one of the ASX stocks to own for the AI boom?

Megaport has become a different business

For years, Megaport was primarily a connectivity story. Its network enables businesses to connect quickly across data centres, cloud providers, and other digital infrastructure worldwide.

I still think the business has a strong future as companies use more cloud services and move greater amounts of data between different locations.

But the acquisition of Latitude.sh has added a completely new dimension.

Latitude.sh gives Megaport direct exposure to AI compute through GPU and CPU infrastructure. Instead of simply connecting customers to the infrastructure they need, Megaport can now provide some of that computing capacity itself.

That puts the company closer to the enormous spending currently taking place around artificial intelligence.

And early demand suggests the opportunity could be substantial.

Megaport recently announced three additional strategic AI infrastructure contracts worth approximately $979 million, taking the value of strategic contracts announced since April to around $2.3 billion. Once those contracts are fully deployed, the company expects group annual recurring revenue to reach roughly $1.1 billion.

For me, that is when the AI story becomes much easier to take seriously.

Why AI inference could be important

Much of the attention around AI has focused on the enormous data centres required to train increasingly powerful models.

But models also require computing power every time somebody actually uses them. This is known as inference, and demand should increase as AI becomes embedded in more software, businesses, and everyday applications.

Bell Potter believes Megaport is particularly well placed here.

The broker recently described the company as offering “one of the few direct exposures on the ASX to a neocloud provider”, with particular exposure to growing inference demand.

Megaport is building a distributed compute network rather than trying to construct enormous AI data centres itself. That potentially gives it a more flexible way to participate as demand develops across different markets.

Its relationship with NVIDIA is another positive. NVIDIA recently named Megaport among the Australian partners it is working with to expand AI infrastructure, which Bell Potter believes could improve Megaport’s access to GPUs and help it win AI-native customers.

Bell Potter sees much more growth ahead

The scale of the earnings growth Bell Potter expects is striking.

The broker forecasts underlying EBITDA increasing from $77 million in FY26 to $329 million in FY27 and $726 million in FY28, with much of that growth supported by strategic contracts already being rolled out.

Bell Potter has consequently initiated coverage with a buy rating and a $27 price target.

From the current Megaport share price of around $21.12, that would represent potential upside of roughly 28%.

I would not buy purely because a broker has put a higher price target on the stock. But I think those forecasts help illustrate just how dramatically Megaport’s earnings profile could change if it successfully delivers the business already contracted.

What could go wrong?

There is plenty of execution required. Megaport has signed enormous contracts, but it now needs to deploy the infrastructure, secure the necessary hardware, and turn those agreements into recurring revenue and profits.

AI infrastructure is also evolving extremely quickly. Competition could increase, technology could change, and today’s exceptionally strong demand may not develop exactly as investors currently expect.

After the share price rally this year, expectations are also much higher. Any delays or weaker contract momentum could produce some sharp volatility.

Foolish takeaway

I think Megaport shares are among the most compelling ways to gain direct exposure to AI infrastructure on the ASX.

I would be comfortable buying shares around $21.12, provided I was prepared for a bumpy ride as this much larger business takes shape.

The post Are Megaport shares a must-buy for the AI boom? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino 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 Megaport and Nvidia. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.