The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) is one of the better-known growth exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the ASX.

It has been around long enough that the basic story is familiar, but I still think there are good reasons to consider it today.

If I had $10,000 to invest for long-term growth, these are the three reasons the NDQ ETF would be on my shortlist.

It gives me something the ASX cannot

The first reason is simple. The Australian share market has plenty of strong businesses, but it does not have many companies operating at the front of global technology.

The NDQ ETF changes that. It gives investors exposure to large Nasdaq-listed businesses across software, semiconductors, ecommerce, digital advertising, cloud computing, biotechnology, and other areas that are difficult to access through the ASX.

This includes Apple, Nvidia, Broadcom, and Tesla.

For me, that makes the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF particularly attractive alongside Australian shares.

The winners can keep getting bigger

Another thing I like about the NDQ ETF is that it gives successful businesses room to become more important within the portfolio.

The Nasdaq-100 is weighted towards its largest companies, so businesses that grow into global leaders can make a meaningful contribution to returns.

Concentration is something I would think carefully about. The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF can become heavily influenced by a relatively small group of companies, particularly when the largest technology businesses are performing strongly.

But I do not necessarily see that as a weakness.

If I already had diversification elsewhere, I might actually want part of my portfolio focused on companies with dominant market positions and large opportunities still ahead of them.

That is a different job from a broad-market ETF, and I think the NDQ ETF can do it well.

AI is only part of the opportunity

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an obvious reason investors are interested in the Nasdaq today, but I would not want the entire investment case resting on AI.

What I want is the wider technology ecosystem around it.

More computing power means greater demand for semiconductors and data centres. Businesses are continuing to move workloads into the cloud. Digital advertising, ecommerce, cybersecurity, automation, and online services are still evolving.

Many Nasdaq-100 companies sit across several of those trends at once.

That gives the NDQ ETF more than one way to benefit as technology spending changes over time.

There will undoubtedly be periods when these shares fall, particularly if valuations become stretched or investors move away from growth stocks.

But with a long enough timeframe, I would be prepared to accept that volatility.

Foolish takeaway

For me, the NDQ ETF has a strong long-term case.

It gives investors access to some of the world’s biggest technology and growth businesses in a single ASX investment, with exposure to several trends that could keep expanding for years.

If I had $10,000 available for long-term growth, the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF would be one of the ETFs I would be happy to own.

The post 3 reasons I’d invest $10,000 into the NDQ ETF appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 ASX ETFs for Aussie investors to buy and hold for 20 years
• Here are the most popular ASX share superannuation investments in SMSFs
• Why I’d invest $50,000 of superannuation into these 3 top ASX ETFs
• How to target the different layers of the artificial intelligence buildout
• 4 most popular ASX ETFs revealed: survey

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 Apple, BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, Broadcom, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Premier Investments Ltd (ASX: PMV) shares were up more than 3% in early trade despite the company’s net profit falling more than 10%.

Challenging trading conditions

The retailer, which reported its full-year results on Thursday, declared a final dividend of 36 cents per share, fully franked, which maintains its dividend yield at more than 7%, albeit on a share price that is down more than 40% over the year.

Revenue from ordinary activities came in at $808 million for the year to July 25, down 2.8%, while net profit was $129.2 million, down 10.3%.

Premier Chair Solomon Lew said the company continued to progress its growth plans for Peter Alexander and Smiggle during the year, “with significant progress made across a number of key initiatives”.

Mr Lew added:

Peter Alexander delivered another record sales performance in FY26 and successfully launched its Peter’s Dreamers loyalty program, attracting more than 1.4 million members within its first 10 months of operation. At Smiggle, the key relaunch initiatives announced in March 2026 have been delivered, with the brand entering 1H27 with a refreshed product range and renewed customer proposition ahead of the critical peak trading period.

Mr Lew said discretionary retail conditions in the second half of the year were very challenging, in particular in the later months.

He added:

Despite this backdrop, we remained focused on executing our growth strategies and positioning both brands for the critical Black Friday, Christmas and Back-to-School trading period ahead. The actions taken over the past six months leave both brands better placed as they enter 1H27. Premier’s diversified portfolio, including the continued strength of our investment in Breville and a strong balance sheet, provides the flexibility to invest in our brands, pursue new opportunities and continue our capital management initiatives, including the on-market share buy-back.  

During the year, Premier opened four new Peter Alexander stores and another five were either expanded or relocated.

The company said at least five new store openings and one relocation or expansion were confirmed for the first half of 2027, including the opening of a large flagship store in the Sydney CBD in October 2026.

Premier said the first seven weeks of the new year continued to be challenging; however, sales were within 1% of the previous period on a like-for-like basis.

Premier Investments shares look fully priced

RBC Capital Markets said the result was neutral for the company.

They said both Smiggle and Peter Alexander sales came in within their forecasts.

They added:

The early 1H27 trading commentary suggests to us that the Retail segment as a whole is tracking largely in line to marginally ahead of consensus, with a clean inventory position to start FY27.

RBC has a price target on Premier of $12 against $11.42 currently, up 2.3% on the day. Premier is valued at $1.78 billion.

The post Why are Premier Investments shares trading higher today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Premier Investments earnings: Net profit slips, dividend steady in FY26

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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Premier Investments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

To get some idea of the massive potential unleashed by the artificial intelligence revolution, you need look no further than ASX AI stock DXN Ltd (ASX: DXN).

If you’re not familiar with DXN, the company manufactures and operates modular data centres.

And business is booming. Here’s what I mean.

Tipping $5,000 into ASX AI stock DXN in March

Back in March, I hadn’t yet heard of DXN. But I wish I had.

You see, on 24 March, DXN shares closed the day trading for 2 cents apiece.

So, for $5,000, I could have bought 250,000 shares in the ASX AI stock. I would then have watched the share price drop to 1.5 cents by market close on 13 April, cutting my initial $5,000 investment to just $3,500.

But if I’d held tight through those early losses, I would then have watched the stock go on an epic tear.

Indeed, in morning trade today, DXN shares are up another 4.6%, currently changing hands for 45.5 cents apiece.

Which means the 250,000 shares I bought six months ago for just $5,000 would be worth $113,750 today. Or a gain of 2,175%.

Boom!

What’s been sending DXN shares to the moon?

Investors have been bidding up the ASX AI stock as DXN kicks off FY 2027 with growing demand for its modular models across AI infrastructure markets.

“FY26 will be remembered as the year DXN’s long-term investment thesis came into focus,” DXN managing director Shalini Lagrutta said following the release of the company’s full-year results on 31 August.

Lagrutta added:

While revenue for the year was impacted by customer-side project deferrals, our maiden AI HPC contract validated years of investment behind our AI-ready modular platform and drove a five-fold increase in the company’s market capitalisation.

We enter FY27 with our strongest-ever backlog currently sitting at $40.9 million as of 30 August 2026 and a rapidly maturing pipeline of identified projects, of which approximately 21% are AI infrastructure related.

Is the ASX AI stock still a good buy today?

Despite its 20-bagger status, Wilson Asset Management – which is a major shareholder in the ASX AI stock – is still adding to its position.

According to Wilson Asset Management portfolio manager Shaun Weick (quoted by the Australian Financial Review):

We think DXN has the potential to be a multi-bagger from here and is one of the best micro-cap opportunities on the ASX…

They have engineered a modular solution, which critically accelerates the rollout of AI factory capacity. They have been awarded multiple initial contracts which, if delivered successfully in coming months, unlocks gigawatt-scale projects which is a multi-billion-dollar revenue opportunity.

The post If I’d invested $5,000 in this ASX AI stock 6 months ago, I’d have $113,750 today! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Fund managers: 2 exciting ASX shares that could be excellent buys

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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.