Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH) shares showed further signs of stabilising on Tuesday.

The hearing implant giant climbed 1.6% to $123.20, extending its gain over the past month to 16%.

That’s an impressive rebound after one of the ASX’s most dramatic share price collapses this year.

But let’s keep things in perspective. Despite the recent recovery, Cochlear shares are still down around 53% in 2026 and have shed almost 59% over the past 12 months.

So, is this the start of a genuine comeback, or merely a relief rally?

What went wrong?

April was one of the darkest months in Cochlear’s history.

The healthcare company shocked investors when it revealed demand for hearing implants across developed markets had weakened more than expected. At the same time, conflict in the Middle East disrupted shipments and led to order cancellations.

Management responded by dramatically lowering its profit expectations. Instead of forecasting underlying net profit of between $435 million and $460 million for FY26, Cochlear slashed guidance to just $290 million to $330 million.

Investors didn’t hang around to hear the rest. Cochlear shares plunged more than 40% in a single session as the market questioned whether one of the ASX’s most reliable growth stories had hit a wall.

Since then, investors have been asking one question: is this a temporary stumble or something more serious?

Why the investment case remains intact

Despite the earnings shock, Cochlear’s competitive position hasn’t fundamentally changed.

The company still commands roughly half of the global cochlear implant market, making it the clear industry leader. That position has been built through decades of product innovation, clinical research, and strong relationships with hospitals and surgeons around the world.

Those competitive advantages are exceptionally difficult for new entrants to replicate.

The long-term growth opportunity for Cochlear shares also remains compelling.

More than six million people across developed markets are estimated to be eligible for cochlear implants, yet only around 3% have received one. That leaves a substantial untapped market as diagnosis rates improve, awareness grows, and technology continues to advance.

In other words, the company’s long-term runway may be just as attractive today as it was before April’s profit warning.

What do the experts think?

Broker sentiment suggests caution rather than outright pessimism.

According to TradingView data, hold remains the dominant recommendation among analysts.

The average 12-month price target sits at $127.64, implying only around 4% upside from current levels. That suggests many brokers believe the recent rebound of Cochlear shares has already captured much of the near-term recovery.

Not everyone agrees. Six of the 18 analysts covering Cochlear have either a buy or strong buy recommendation, with the most optimistic forecasting the shares could rise another 38% over the next year.

On the other hand, two analysts recommend selling. The lowest target price stands at $100, implying downside of roughly 19%.

The post Cochlear shares have bounced 16%. Should you buy, hold, or sell now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 10 fantastic ASX shares to buy for FY27
• Cochlear shares are slipping again. Is the comeback already over?
• Cochlear shares are flying. Is this just the start?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• ASX healthcare shares have jumped 21% since June. Can the recovery continue?

Motley Fool contributor Marc Van Dinther 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 Cochlear. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is in focus today after the gold and copper miner delivered record FY26 cash flow of $1,389 million and maintained a net cash position, while meeting its FY26 group production and cost guidance.

What did Evolution Mining report?

• FY26 gold production: 715,000 ounces; copper production: 66,000 tonnes
• All-in sustaining cost (AISC) in FY26: $1,717/oz, a sector-leading result
• June quarter production: 180,000 oz gold, 19,000 t copper at AISC $1,706/oz (improved 23% quarter-on-quarter)
• Record operating mine cash flow: $3,394 million; net mine cash flow: $2,079 million
• Group cash balance: $1,347 million, with no debt repayments due until FY29
• Record interim dividend: $406 million paid to shareholders

What else do investors need to know?

Operational highlights this year included Ernest Henry returning to full production after weather disruptions and the successful ramp-up of the Mungari mill. All high-return organic growth projects, such as Cowal Open Pit Continuation and the Northparkes E22 development, remain on schedule and within budget.

Importantly, Evolution Mining is now fully unhedged, giving it potential upside exposure to gold and copper prices. The company’s safety performance also remained steady, with a low total recordable injury frequency rate of 5.9 as at 30 June 2026.

What did Evolution Mining management say?

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Lawrie Conway said:

FY26 continued to build on the improved consistent performance of the past couple of years, meeting Group production and cost guidance. For the full year, we produced 715koz of gold and 66kt of copper at a sector-leading AISC of $1,717/oz. The June quarter delivered 180koz of gold and 19kt of copper at an AISC of $1,706/oz which improved 23%. We delivered record FY26 Group cash flow of $1,389M at a high margin of $1,958/oz. We are now fully unhedged and in a net cash position with a cash balance of $1,347M. All high-return organic growth projects remain on schedule and budget.

What’s next for Evolution Mining?

FY27 guidance will be formally released on 19 August 2026. Early indications suggest no major changes to production capacity, except for the planned closure of Mt Rawdon. Inflation pressures are expected to lift all-in sustaining costs by roughly $150–$160/oz in FY27, and mine development investment is set to increase to sustain operational reliability and progress key projects at Northparkes, Cowal, and Ernest Henry.

Exploration spend is also flagged to rise in FY27, as the company looks to build on success across its key gold and copper assets and evaluate promising greenfield opportunities. The focus will remain on reliable delivery, margin protection, and prudent capital investment.

Evolution Mining share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Evolution Mining shares have risen 53%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen 2% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Evolution Mining posts record FY26 cash flow appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Rio Tinto: 3% production growth and strong lithium output in H1 2026
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Steadfast Group takeover bid update: KKR joins consortium
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

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.

Artificial intelligence and, by extension, cloud computing and data centres have been perhaps the biggest investment theme globally over the past year.

Companies such as Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA), Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ: MU) and SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) have attracted huge investor interest as the infrastructure demands of the AI industry continue to grow.

Not all providers created equal

Macquarie has this week issued a research note to clients, which argues that simple ownership of GPUs (graphics processing units) is not enough, but that it has to be paired with the ability to “convert capital, power and installed capacity into useful compute”.

They add:

In our view, useful compute per MW per dollar is the most important metric for assessing Neocloud quality. Neocloud customers buy useful compute output, not machine access. Two operators using the same GPU hardware can deliver materially different performance, utilisation, latency and cost outcomes depending on network architecture, software stack, reliability, batching, caching and customer mix. As the industry matures, durable premiums will accrue to operators that can prove better delivered compute.

To clarify, a neocloud is a specialised cloud provider built to specifically support AI and machine learning workloads.

Which ASX tech companies look set to benefit?

When it comes to the Australian market, Macquarie’s top sector picks for companies that can support neoclouds are Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) and Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT).

Macquarie said in its note to clients that in Australia, neocloud entrants like Firmus and Sharon AI “are competing for the same scarce pool of data centre capacity, adding another source of demand to a market that was already supply constrained”.

They added:

The relevance for NXT is straightforward: neoclouds are being forced to secure data centre capacity ahead of GPU deployment, with NVIDIA supply of GPUs contingent on signing upfront data centre contracts. This pulls demand forward into an already constrained market. NXT’s agreement with Sharon AI for 50MW of capacity at its M3 site is an example of this.

Macquarie has a price target of $18.30 on Nextdc shares compared to $13.07 currently.

With regard to Megaport, Macquarie said the company “already has the diversified Enterprise customer base and characteristics that drive quality for Neocloud operators”.

They added:

These characteristics drive lower operating risk (MP1 signs contracts before capex), a net cash position, and higher quality business and customer mix.

Macquarie said Megaport’s Latitude business division was also diversified well-beyond just AI, supporting a “highly diverse mix of non-AI workloads, including web hosting, game servers, large relational databases, streaming applications, and traditional enterprise IT migrations that require high performance without virtualisation overhead”.

Macquarie has a price target of $27.80 on Megaport shares compared to $19.90 currently.

The post Which ASX tech companies does Macquarie like in the surging cloud computing sector? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• SK Hynix IPOs in the US. Here’s what that means for ASX investors
• 2 ASX shares tipped to grow 45% or more in the next 12 months
• 10 fantastic ASX shares to buy for FY27
• NEXTDC boosts funding with $2.3 billion senior debt facility upsize
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has positions in Megaport and Nextdc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Megaport. 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.