The Guzman Y Gomez Ltd (ASX: GYG) share price soared on Friday after reporting its FY26 result. As the chart below shows, GYG has soared since April 2026.

At this higher valuation, I’m not about to say that GYG is trading at an ultra-cheap price. But, I think the company has such a compelling long-term future that it still represents a good buy at this price.

The US expansion didn’t work out, but the rest of the business is still growing rapidly and the outlook is compelling, in my view. Let’s run through why Guzman Y Gomez shares are still compelling to me.

Excellent revenue growth potential

I think one of the most important factors for deciding how big a return a business can deliver is how much its top line can grow.

Despite being two decades old, the business seems nowhere near finished growing at a strong pace.

In FY26 alone, the business saw Australian network sales grow 17.9% to $1.29 billion, and Asian network sales also rose 17.9% to $87.1 million. Many ASX shares would be happy with that level of growth, and the business is growing strongly in the two different markets of Australia and Asia.

During FY26, its Australian network expanded by 32 to 255, the Singapore network rose by three to 24, and the Japanese network remained at five. Excitingly, GYG expects more restaurants in both Singapore and Japan. I think there is significant potential for international growth over the long term.

The business expects to open 35 new restaurants in Australia in FY27, with a medium-term goal to open around 40 new locations annually in Australia. Over the ultra-long-term, it sees scope to reach 1,000 restaurants in Australia.

On top of that network growth, it’s expecting mid-single-digit comparable sales growth in FY27. That’s a solid level of growth for its existing network.

Profit margins expected to rise

If margins were stable as the network grows quickly, the business would have a good future. Guzman Y Gomez also expects significant margin improvement in the coming years.

In the 2026 financial year, GYG revealed that its underlying operating profit (EBITDA) as a percentage of network sales rose by 50 basis points (0.50%) to 6.2% in FY26. In the long term, the company is targeting this margin to reach 10%, but it’s expecting it to reach between 6.7% to 6.9% in FY27.

With strong profitability for its corporate restaurants and franchise restaurants, the outlook is positive for strong profit growth.

Excluding the losses from the US business, operating profit (EBITDA) grew by 27.4% to $98.5 million, and statutory net profit rose 31.6% to $40.6 million.

I’m optimistic that earnings per share (EPS) can compound at a strong rate in the coming years.

Payments to owners of Guzman Y Gomez shares

The company is rewarding investors with pleasing dividends. For FY26, Guzman Y Gomez is paying out around 90% of its underlying earnings from Australia and Asia as a dividend, with a total dividend of 48 cents per share.

By rewarding investors with such a high dividend payout ratio, they are receiving significant income and still able to enjoy the capital growth from its expansion. With a significant franchise network (including Asia), GYG doesn’t need that much retained earnings (capital) itself to see its restaurant network grow at a pleasing pace.

I expect the GYG dividend to grow roughly in line with underlying earnings in the coming years. Additionally, it announced a share buyback of up to $100 million, which can boost the EPS and dividend per share, while also improving the return on equity (ROE).

I think the Guzman Y Gomez share price has a very compelling long-term future.

The post Why I’d still buy Guzman Y Gomez shares after its big rise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Guzman Y Gomez. 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.

Investing does not need to involve constantly researching individual companies or trying to pick the next big winner.

For investors who want to keep things simple, I think Vanguard exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can do much of the work.

Here are a few ways I would use them.

Start with the Australian share market

The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) is one of the simplest ways to invest across the Australian share market.

Rather than choosing which bank, miner, healthcare company, or retailer might perform best, the fund spreads investors’ money across a group of 300 Australian businesses.

I think that can be attractive for someone who wants exposure to ASX shares without spending hours researching individual companies.

There is also an income component. Many Australian shares pay dividends, and the VAS ETF passes the income it receives from its holdings through to investors.

The biggest advantage for me, though, is simplicity.

An investor can make one purchase and immediately own a broad collection of established Australian businesses. From there, they can keep adding money over time and allow the underlying companies to do the work.

Add the rest of the world

Australia is only a small part of the global share market, so I would also consider investing internationally.

The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) provides exposure to companies across major developed markets outside Australia.

That opens the door to global businesses in technology, healthcare, consumer products, financial services, industrials, and many other industries that are less represented on the ASX.

I think this is an easy way to broaden an investment portfolio without researching companies across dozens of countries.

The VGS ETF also means an investor does not need to predict which overseas market will perform best next.

Instead, they can own a broad collection of global businesses and give them years to grow.

Want to make it even easier?

Some investors may prefer to go one step further and use a single diversified ETF.

The Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) combines Australian and international shares with smaller allocations to defensive assets.

Vanguard takes care of spreading the money across several markets and rebalancing the portfolio over time.

I think that can remove several decisions that often make investing feel more complicated than it needs to be.

There is no need to decide exactly how much money should go into Australian shares, US companies, emerging markets, or bonds each time an investment is made.

For someone who wants to regularly invest and then get on with life, that simplicity could be valuable.

Consistency can do a lot of the work

Whichever approach an investor chooses, I think the biggest advantage comes from making investing easy enough to stick with.

Markets will fall from time to time, headlines will change, and there will always be a new investment that appears more exciting.

A broad Vanguard ETF allows investors to focus instead on regularly putting money to work and thinking in years rather than weeks.

Over a long enough period, I think that consistency can become far more important than finding the perfect investment at exactly the right moment.

Foolish takeaway

I think Vanguard ETFs can make building wealth remarkably straightforward.

An investor could use the VAS ETF for Australian shares, the VGS ETF for global exposure, or the VDHG ETF if they would rather have much of the diversification handled within a single investment.

The important part is finding an approach that is easy to understand and easy to continue.

For many investors, buying a broad ETF regularly and giving it plenty of time could be all the investing strategy they need.

The post How I’d make investing easy with Vanguard ETFs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How to invest $10,000 the Warren Buffett way: Buy businesses, not stocks
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Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino has positions in Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF. 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 Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Investing $15,000 into Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares could generate lots of passive income for shareholders over the coming 12 months.

Of course, it has already generated significant passive income for shareholders. The FY26 result alone was an incredibly rewarding period for investors.

The company hiked its annual dividend per share in FY26 by 10.5% to 21 cents per share. I think shareholders of most ASX blue-chip shares would be happy with this level of passive income growth.

Let’s see what’s projected for the business in FY27 and what they could mean for a $15,000 investment.

More passive income to come?

The company reported a number of positive metrics in the FY26 result which bodes well for FY27, in my view.

Its mobile division delivered ongoing growth, supported by its leading mobile network. Total mobile income grew 3% to $11.4 billion and the operating profit (EBITDA) rose by 3%.

Mobile service revenue increased by 4.8%, driven by both handheld price changes and wholesale. It reported sustained average revenue per user (ARPU) growth across all categories, brands and segments.

Postpaid handheld ARPU grew 3.8%, prepaid handheld ARPU rose 7.2% and wholesale ARPU increased 8.8%. Overall ARPU rose 3.7% to $45.33.

Telstra also noted that mobile handheld users increased by 274,000 in FY26, including 39,000 in retail and 235,000 for wholesale.

Ongoing price rises could help the company’s earnings rise again in FY27.

The company is forecasting that its operating earnings will rise by single-digits (in percentage terms) in FY27. Operating profit (EBITDAaL) could rise by between 1.9% to 5.5% to between $8.5 billion and $8.8 billion. Cash earnings (EBIT) could rise by between 1.9% to 6.2% to between $4.75 billion and $4.95 billion.

The ASX telco share is forecast by analysts to deliver shareholders an annual dividend per share of 22 cents in the 2027 financial year. That translates into a dividend yield of 4.6% excluding franking credits and 6.4% including franking credits.

What would a $15,000 investment in Telstra shares do?

If an investor bought $15,000 of Telstra at the time of writing, it would allow that Australian to buy 3,164 Telstra shares.

With that, in FY27, an investor could receive $696.08 of dividend cash and approximately $269.49 of franking credits for a potential total grossed-up income of $964.57.

The company could be a solid choice for passive income for the years ahead. It has a solid dividend yield, rising ARPU and it continues to invest in its network.

The post If I invest $15,000 in Telstra shares, how much passive income will I receive in 2027? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 16 ASX 200 shares with ex-dividend dates next week
• Telstra shares hit fresh 52-week low: What’s next for the ASX 200 telco stock?
• How much is needed in superannuation for $1500 in weekly passive income?
• Buying Telstra shares? Here’s the yield you’ll get today
• Why I’d buy Telstra, Woolworths, and Macquarie shares

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 positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.