Author: openjargon

The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is charging higher today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock closed yesterday trading for $28.26. In morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for $29.35, up 3.9%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.3% at this same time.

Taking a step back, the Northern Star share price has gained a market-beating 60.4% over the past 12 months. That’s atop delivering two dividends (partly franked) totalling 55 cents per share.

And investors who waded in and bought the ASX 200 gold miner at its one-year closing lows of $15.30 on 1 August will be sitting on gains of 91.8% at the time of writing.

Part of that strong outperformance has been driven by the rocketing gold price. While down from the record highs notched in late January, the yellow metal is currently fetching US$5,097 per ounce. That sees the gold price up more than 52% over 12 months.

Of course, Northern Star has hardly been sitting idle.

Here’s what’s grabbing investor interest again today.

Northern Star share price jumps on 49% profit surge

The ASX 200 gold miner released its half-year results covering the six months to 31 December before market open this morning (H1 FY 2026).

The Northern Star share price looks to be getting a boost, with the miner reporting a 19% year-on-year boost in half-year revenue to $3.41 billion. The company credited the revenue surge to the 31% increase in its average realised gold prices.

Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also enjoyed a big lift, rising 34% from H1 FY 2025 to $1.88 billion. Earnings were buoyed by higher gold prices but hindered by increased mining costs.

On the bottom line, Northern Star delivered underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of $760 million. That’s up 49% year on year.

With profits surging, management declared a conservative fully-franked interim dividend of 25 cents per share. That’s in line with last year’s interim dividend, although that one came without franking credits.

As at 31 December, the miner held net cash of $293 million, with cash and bullion holdings totalling $1.18 billion.

What did management say?

Commenting on the half-year results helping lift the Northern Star share price today, managing director Stuart Tonkin said:

This first half result demonstrates the resilience and growing returns we are embedding in our business, which allowed the board to declare a 25 cents per share interim dividend despite a soft operating performance.

Our balance sheet remains in a net cash position notwithstanding the significant investments we are making to transform Northern Star into a lowest-half global cost producer.

The post Up 92% since August, why is the Northern Star share price lifting off again today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Northern Star Resources lifts profit 41%, maintains dividend after active half
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• I would skip Northern Star shares and buy these ASX stocks
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Experts name 3 ASX 200 giants to sell today

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.

The Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC) share price is in focus after the developer announced CEO Tony Lombardo will step down in August 2026. The company revealed a leadership transition is underway, following the successful implementation of its refreshed strategy.

What did Lendlease report?

• CEO and Managing Director Tony Lombardo to leave after five years in the role
• Succession plan initiated, with executive search firm engaged to find new CEO
• Strategic reset of the Group has been largely executed
• Focus remains on long-term value creation for people, customers, and securityholders

What else do investors need to know?

Lombardo, who has been with Lendlease for 18 years, will depart after overseeing a period of significant change. The Board says the strategic reset — including efforts to simplify the portfolio, restore the balance sheet, and position for future growth — is now “embedded”.

Chairman John Gillam described FY27 as an “inflection point” for the business, suggesting that this is the right opportunity for new leadership. The transition process will prioritise stability, with Lombardo staying until August 2026 to support an orderly handover.

An international executive search firm has been appointed to identify the next Group CEO, with further updates to be provided to the market as the process unfolds.

What’s next for Lendlease?

Lendlease is entering the next phase of its strategy, with FY27 signalled as a turning point for the Group. The company is aiming to build on its recent foundations and drive long-term growth.

Investors can expect more updates on the CEO search and further details on business execution as the leadership transition is managed across the coming 18 months.

Lendlease share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Lendlease shares have declined 29%, trailing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 6% over the same period.

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The post Lendlease announces CEO succession as Tony Lombardo steps down appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Temple & Webster H1 FY26 earnings: Revenue jumps 20% as market share grows
• Paladin Energy shares in focus after uranium sales fuel revenue jump
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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.

Wildcat Resources Ltd (ASX: WC8) has this week reported drilling results from its Bolt Cutter Central discovery in Western Australia, with lithium mineralisation present in all drill holes to date.

The company drilled three diamond holes for metallurgical purposes and is continuing with drilling to hopefully expand the scale of the discovery.

A reverse circulation drilling program is also scheduled to start late in the current quarter, the company said in its statement to the ASX.

Dual deposit development a possibility

The Bolt Cutter prospect is just 10km west of Wildcat’s Tabba Tabba project, for which the company released a prefeasibility study last year, indicating a probable 17-year mine life.

The company said this week that the lithium mineralisation at Bolt Cutter was quite coarse, which could be suited to a different processing method.

As the company explained:

Each of the completed diamond holes intersected mineralisation interpreted to contain spodumene and other lithium bearing minerals. Encouragingly, diamond core samples indicate that some interpreted spodumene crystals are quite coarse, exceeding 100mm in length. While the primary focus of the metallurgical test work is to assess the suitability of the pegmatite for processing through the existing Tabba Tabba flowsheet, due to the observations of coarse interpreted spodumene, the applicability of a dense media separation (DMS) workflow will also be evaluated.

Shaw and Partners have had a look at the results and said in a research note to clients that they were encouraging.

As they said:

Results to date demonstrate strong potential for Bolt Cutter to grow in scale both laterally and at depth. Bolt Cutter is likely to be a key component of Wildcat’s two-pronged strategy of exploration and development, with organic growth from discoveries providing a clear pathway for integration into broader development plans. Wildcat is moving quickly toward production, having made its major discovery on already granted mining leases. This unusual status, combined with a signed Native Title Agreement, significantly truncates the regulatory and permitting timeline, allowing the company to target first production in 2028. This will allow Wildcat to capitalise on the current lithium price cycle as the market moves into deficit later this decade.

Shaw and Partners said the company should be well-placed to be in production in time to feed into what was an “overwhelmingly bullish outlook for lithium demand, fuelled not only by the global transition to electric vehicles, but also by the rapidly increasing power requirements of AI data centres and utility-scale energy storage systems”.

Shaw has a price target of $1.20 on Wildcat shares, compared with the current price of 38.5 cents, which would be a 211.7% return if achieved.

The post This lithium developer could deliver better than 200% upside Shaw and Partners says appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Capstone Copper, Catalyst Metals, DroneShield, and Wildcat shares are rising today
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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 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.

The Temple & Webster Ltd (ASX: TPW) share price is in focus today after the company posted 20% revenue growth to $376 million for the half year, with EBITDA (excluding New Zealand investment) up 13% to $14.9 million.

What did Temple & Webster report?

• Revenue rose 19.8% to $375.9 million for H1 FY26
• EBITDA (pre-NZ investment) increased 13% to $14.9 million; margin at 4.0%
• Net cash rose 15.3% to $160.6 million as of 31 December 2025
• Active customers grew 14% year-on-year to ~1.4 million
• Repeat customers made up 62% of total orders
• Free cash flow of $23 million was generated during the half

What else do investors need to know?

Temple & Webster grew market share to a record 2.9% of Australia’s furniture and homewares market, supported by strong performances in home improvement (+47%) and Trade & Commercial (+24%). Its New Zealand expansion also added over $1 million in sales from more than 3,000 orders within four months of launch.

The business improved efficiency as fixed costs fell to 9.4% of revenue, compared to 10.5% a year ago. Exclusive product revenue hit a new high, now accounting for 49% of total sales.

What did Temple & Webster management say?

CEO Mark Coulter said:

We continue to execute on our strategy to reach $1 billion in revenue by FY28 and cement our leadership in the online retail market for the home. In addition to delivering 20% revenue growth and EBITDA within our target range, we made great progress on our long-term strategic priorities: brand awareness has increased while marketing ROI has stabilised; exclusive product revenue has reached an all-time high; and company-wide deployment of AI tools has helped to drive fixed costs to a record low percentage of revenue.

What’s next for Temple & Webster?

Temple & Webster maintained EBITDA margin guidance for FY26 at 3–5%, with the focus on gaining market share and investing in growth drivers like competitive pricing and marketing. The company’s mid-term goal remains $1 billion+ in annual revenue by FY28.

It also confirmed its on-market share buy-back program is in place, with capacity to buy back over 11 million shares and more than $160 million in cash reserves to support future growth and returns.

Temple & Webster share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Temple & Webster shares have declined 34%, trailing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 6% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Temple & Webster H1 FY26 earnings: Revenue jumps 20% as market share grows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Lendlease announces CEO succession as Tony Lombardo steps down
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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 positions in and has recommended Temple & Webster Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group. 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.

If you were watching the boards yesterday, you’ll likely have noticed the momentous gains posted by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares.

When the closing bell sounded, shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stock were up a whopping 6.8% on the day, trading for $169.56 apiece.

This saw Australia’s biggest bank stock commanding a market cap of $283.8 billion.

Importantly, the big surge in CBA shares also saw the bank retake its recently lost title of biggest stock on the ASX from Aussie mining giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

BHP shares closed up 1.6% on Wednesday, trading for $51.07 each. This gives BHP a market cap of $259.4 billion.

BHP’s fleeting moment on top

It was only on 27 January that BHP reclaimed the biggest stock crown that it had lost to CBA almost 18 months earlier.

That handover followed on a six-month upward trend in iron ore prices (BHP’s number one revenue producer), while copper prices (BHP’s number two revenue earner) surged to new records.

At the same time, CBA shares were being pressured with expectations of RBA interest rate cuts in 2026, which could pressure the bank’s margins. CommBank stock also came under pressure amid ongoing analyst warnings on the big bank’s overvaluation relative to its peers.

But the past three weeks have ushered in a rapid turnaround that’s seen BHP lose its biggest stock status far sooner than most market watchers had anticipated.

Part of that turnaround has been driven by slumping iron ore prices, falling from around US$108 per tonne in mid-January to be trading at around US$100 per tonne on Wednesday.

And rather than cutting rates in 2026, resurgent inflation saw the RBA increase the official interest rate to 3.85% last Tuesday, which could help CBA’s margins.

At the end of it all, BHP shares gained 2.7% since 27 January through to yesterday’s market close, while CBA shares have rocketed 13% over this same time.

And so the old king is back. For how long, remains to be seen.

Why did CBA shares go gangbusters on Wednesday?

The outsized gains posted by CBA shares on Wednesday followed the release of the bank’s unexpectedly strong half-year results.

Highlights included a 6% year-on-year increase in cash net profits after tax (NPAT) to $5.45 billion.

With profits soaring, CBA rewarded stockholders with a fully-franked interim dividend of $2.35 per share, up 4% from last year’s interim dividend payout.

The post That was fast! BHP relinquishes biggest ASX stock crown as CBA shares rocket appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX) share price is in focus after the company posted strong half-year results, with operating revenue up 11.2% to $602.8 million and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) increasing 3.9% to $263.6 million.

What did ASX Ltd report?

• Operating revenue of $602.8 million, up 11.2% on 1H25
• Statutory and underlying NPAT of $263.6 million, up 8.3% and 3.9% respectively
• Total expenses of $264.3 million, up 20.0%
• Underlying return on equity steady at 13.5%
• Interim dividend of 101.8 cents per share, down 8.5% and fully franked
• All four business lines contributed to the result, highlighting a diversified portfolio

What else do investors need to know?

ASX’s expense growth was higher this half, partly due to costs related to the ASIC Inquiry and investments in major transformation programs, including technology upgrades and the Accelerate initiative. Excluding ASIC-related costs, core business expenses rose by 12.1%.

There were several product launches in the half, such as gold ETF options and new environmental futures contracts, supporting customers as Australia’s markets evolve toward sustainability and energy transition. The company is also preparing for the switchover to a new clearing platform (CHESS Release 1), now targeted for April 2026.

What did ASX Ltd management say?

ASX Managing Director and CEO Helen Lofthouse said:

ASX achieved strong revenue growth of 11.2% to $602.8 million in the half and we continued to deliver key business outcomes during the period. Revenue performance was driven by high volumes for cash market trading, clearing and settlement, and interest rate futures. It was particularly pleasing to see all four business units contributing to our result, underscoring the value of ASX’s diversified business model.

What’s next for ASX Ltd?

Looking ahead, ASX is focused on implementing its Commitments plan following the ASIC Inquiry, including strengthening governance and risk management, and raising an additional $150 million in capital by June 2027. The dividend payout ratio has been trimmed and a discounted dividend reinvestment plan introduced for at least the next three payments.

The company is preparing for the launch of its new clearing platform and expects capital expenditure for FY26 and FY27 to remain within previous guidance. Higher operating expenses are anticipated, mainly due to regulatory and program-related investments.

View Original Announcement

The post ASX Ltd posts solid 1H26 results, trims dividend as costs rise 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.

If I were investing in ASX shares to build a second income of dividends, there are a few names that really appeal to me. Namely, I’m looking at businesses that offer a good dividend yield today along with strong potential for payout growth.

Dividend growth is not guaranteed of course, but when a business provides guidance of a growing payout, then it’s more likely to come true. Plus, the two businesses discussed below have compelling tailwinds for future growth.

I normally mention a name like Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) in an article like this, but I want to highlight two others to build a second income.

Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

This real estate investment trust (REIT) owns a portfolio of high-quality industrial properties across Australia and it’s seeing strong rental growth.

In the first half of FY26, it reported strong like-for-like net operating income (NOI) growth of 5.1%, with portfolio occupancy increasing to 95.7% .

Around 60% of leases expiring over the next three years are under-rented, according to the business, providing an opportunity to execute positive rent reversions. The reversions could be boosted in the medium-term thanks to additional market rental growth with a supply-demand imbalance.

The REIT’s management points to a number of tailwinds for the industrial property sector including population growth, sustained public infrastructure and a rebound in tenant activity.

On top of that, “national long-term supply remains constrained, driving the increased portfolio occupancy and reinforcing resilient demand for the style of industrial assets” that the REIT owns in “urban infall markets”.

The ASX share is also benefiting from strong demand for data centres. It has made recent acquisitions and development initiatives in this space, including the lodged development application for a new 40MW data centre.

The business is expecting to grow its annual distribution by 3% in FY26, translating into a forward distribution yield of 5.2%, which is a great yield for Aussies building a second income.

WCM Global Growth Ltd (ASX: WQG)

One of the best benefits of listed investment companies (LICs) is that they can decide on the level of passive income payment they want to send to shareholders, assuming they have the profit reserve to do so.

WCM Global Growth is one of those LICs that has demonstrated an ability to deliver rising dividends as well as strong portfolio performance.

The ASX share aims to own a portfolio of international shares which have improving economic moats (competitive advantages) and have corporate cultures that foster those competitive advantages.

WCM Global Growth’s portfolio has performed well using this strategy, with an average return per year of 25.5% over the last three years. The strategy has delivered an average return per year of 14.6% since March 2008. Of course, it’s not guaranteed to perform that strongly in future years.

The business announced that it expects to grow its payout for the quarter ending 30 September 2026 by 14.8%, implying a potential annualised grossed-up dividend yield of 7%, including franking credits, at the time of writing.

I think this ASX share could be one of the most compelling to own over the long-term for building a second income.

The post Want to build up a second income? These 2 ASX shares are a buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) share price is in focus after the company reported first-half revenue of US$138.3 million, with gross profit jumping to US$26 million as uranium sales surged from its Langer Heinrich Mine.

What did Paladin Energy report?

• Sales revenue of US$138.3 million, driven by 1.96 million pounds of uranium sold at an average price of US$70.5 per pound
• Gross profit rose to US$26.0 million for the half, up from just US$0.9 million a year earlier
• Net loss after tax narrowed to US$6.6 million, impacted by production ramp-up and Canadian expansion
• Total unrestricted cash and investments reached US$278.4 million, up 213%
• Successful A$300 million equity raising and A$100 million share purchase plan completed
• Syndicated debt facility restructured to provide greater financial flexibility

What else do investors need to know?

Paladin’s operational ramp-up at its Langer Heinrich Mine has been progressing well, supported by additional mining fleet arriving on site and stronger contract pricing. This underpinned the sharp lift in sales and revenue for the half.

At the same time, the company advanced its Patterson Lake South (PLS) Project in Canada—helped by the equity raising and share purchase plan—laying the groundwork for its next phase of growth. Paladin also restructured its debt, reducing its drawn balance and increasing undrawn capacity.

The balance sheet ended the half in a much stronger position, with US$278.4 million in cash and investments and an undrawn US$70 million revolving credit facility. This gives Paladin added headroom as it continues ramp-up and development activities.

What did Paladin Energy management say?

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Paul Hemburrow said:

The first half of the year demonstrated strong and continually improving performance at Langer Heinrich Mine as our team increased its knowledge and experience of how to optimise the production process, including the mining activities that were gathering pace at the start of this financial year. With the remaining mining fleet arriving on site, the foundations are now in place to successfully complete our ramp-up at Langer Heinrich Mine during the remaining months of the year.

The half year results also highlight the robust financial position of Paladin Energy with increasing revenue from strong sales augmented by a successful equity raising and a restructure of the debt portfolio that will enable us to complete our ramp-up activities at the LHM and continue to progress the PLS Project in Canada, including our winter drilling program.

What’s next for Paladin Energy?

Looking ahead, Paladin Energy plans to complete the ramp-up of its Langer Heinrich Mine, taking full advantage of favourable uranium market conditions and strong sales contracts. Management also aims to keep advancing the PLS Project in Canada, including the current winter drilling program, as it moves towards a final investment decision.

With a stronger balance sheet and restructured debt facility, Paladin says it is well positioned to deliver growth from both existing production and new developments, providing flexibility to respond to further opportunities in the uranium sector.

Paladin Energy share price snapshot

Over the past 12 month, Paladin Energy shares have risen 46%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 6% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Paladin Energy shares in focus after uranium sales fuel revenue jump appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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.

The Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) share price has seen a rough performance over the past year. It’s down around 55% over the past 12 months, as the chart below shows.

That decline has occurred despite the company’s operating revenue, net profit and cash flow continuing to rise. The decline in recent times can probably be attributed to worries about AI, but the decline last year may have been impacted by concerns about the US Melio acquisition.

Xero recently held a Melio and AI product demonstration which impressed the broker UBS and it thinks the ASX tech share has significant growth potential from here.

UBS’ optimistic view

The broker viewed the demonstration and guidance that Melio will become breakeven sometime in the second half of FY28 (on a run-rate basis) positively for Xero – this was between six to 12 months ahead of expectations.

UBS thinks the market is significantly undervaluing Melio, attributing a value of $17.80 per share on the US small and medium enterprise (SME) payables payment business.

The broker is forecasting that Xero could grow total payment volume (TPV) at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40% between FY26 and FY28, driven by a 15,000 increase per year in Melio-only users, while this could also help Xero’s accounting subscriptions.

UBS noted that Xero disclosed a Melio customer tends to see a 75% rise in TPV in year one 15% in year two and 10% in year three, suggesting the ramp-up profit is “strong”.

Xero also highlighted growth drivers including a rise in the gross TPV take rates and gross margins for Melio. UBS forecasts the take rate to grow from 51 basis points (0.51%) in FY25 to 82.5 basis points (0.825%) by FY29 as customers increase usage of premium payment types.

UBS also highlighted that management comments suggest a larger proportion of the US$70 million synergy target will be derived from US accounting subscriptions, which would validate the decision to acquire Melio. The broker is currently assuming Xero’s accounting subscriptions will grow at 55,000 per year in the US between FY26 and FY20, plus 15,000 per annum of Melio-only subscriptions.

On the AI side of things, Xero said it has a number of competitive advantages against AI disruption, including domain expertise, decades of transaction and decision data by subscribers, and infrastructure such as bank feed relationship[s. payment rails and the app ecosystem. UBS suggested this would be difficult to replicate by AI challengers.

Xero has plans to start AI monetisation in FY27 through a mixture of bundling, add-ons and consumption. UBS surveys suggest SMEs may be willing to pay 8.5% more for AI, which the broker thinks is an opportunity for acceleration of its software as a service (SaaS) offering.

Is the Xero share price a buy?

UBS certainly thinks so, it has a buy rating on the business with a price target of $174, implying the share price could potentially double within the next year.

The current projection is that net profit could soar to $928 million, which could be a big driver for the Xero share price.

The post Is the Xero share price an opportunity too good to pass up? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• 3 ASX 200 shares worth buying after February’s sell-off
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• Why are ASX 200 tech shares like WiseTech and NextDC going gangbusters on Monday
• Why I’m planning to act this week and buy ASX 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 positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) share price is in focus today after the health imaging company delivered a record interim result, with revenue up 28.4% to $124.8 million and reported net profit after tax jumping 230.9% to $171.2 million.

What did Pro Medicus report?

• Revenue from ordinary activities: $124.8 million (up 28.4%)
• Underlying profit before tax: $90.7 million (up 29.7%)
• Reported net profit after tax: $171.2 million (up 230.9%, driven by $149.1 million in unrealised gains)
• Underlying EBIT margin: 73% (up from 72%)
• Cash and financial assets: $221.8 million (up 5.3%)
• Fully franked interim dividend: 32 cents per share

What else do investors need to know?

Pro Medicus signed more than $280 million in new contracts during the half, including a $170 million, 10-year deal with the University of Colorado and major agreements with healthcare leaders in the US and Europe. Most new contracts included the company’s full stack of Visage products, with some clients also adopting its cardiology solution, highlighting increasing customer demand for bundled offerings.

The company remains debt-free and increased its cash holdings, despite two share buybacks, higher dividends, and a $10 million investment in 4D Medical Limited that contributed significant unrealised gains to this result.

What did Pro Medicus management say?

CEO Dr Sam Hupert said:

Our profits continue to grow strongly even though our biggest implementation during the period in Trinity Cohort 1 went live towards the end of October so had limited impact on the half.

Importantly, our margins also grew, and we made more sales in this half than we used to make in a full year just 2 years ago. Most contracts were for the full stack of Visage products – Viewer, Workflow and Archive and two also included our cardiology offering making them full stack +1, a trend we see continuing.

What’s next for Pro Medicus?

Management flagged a busy second half, with seven more go-lives planned—including three more Trinity cohorts—which should support further revenue growth. The sales pipeline remains strong, helped by the success of its presence at major industry events like RSNA 2025.

The company continues to target a broad range of healthcare providers and sees opportunities to deepen its penetration in the US, leveraging its “one product, one model” approach to address the full range of imaging market needs.

Pro Medicus share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Pro Medicus shares have declined 41%, trailing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 6% over the same period.

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The post Pro Medicus interim earnings surge on record profits 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 recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus. 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.