Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares are an attractive option for passive-income hunting investors.

The company generates a substantial cash flow from its large iron ore operations which means that when iron ore prices and production is strong, it can return a significant portion of its profits to shareholders through dividends.

Fortescue is also actively diversifying its business beyond iron ore and into other markets, such as copper and renewable energy, which could reduce its reliance on iron ore over the long term and strengthen its bottom line.

But what if you wanted to generate $1,000 of passive income from Fortescue shares every single month? Is it even possible? And if so, what would it entail?

Let’s investigate.

What’s the latest out of Fortescue shares?

At the time of writing, ASX mining shares are trading for $17.61 a piece. That’s about 21% lower year-to-date and a 6% decline from this time last year.

What dividend does Fortescue pay its shareholders?

Fortescue has a strong dividend history dating back to 2011.

The miner traditionally pays its shareholders two full-franked dividends every year, in March and September. The miner has a policy of returning 50%-80% of its net profit after tax to shareholders as dividends.

Fortescue is due to pay its shareholders a final 46 cent per share dividend, fully franked, later this month. Combined with the 62 cent dividend paid out in March, that brings the miner’s total FY26 dividend to $1.08 per share.

Current forecasts suggest that the company’s FY27 total dividend per share could decline to 86.4 cents per share, off the back of falling iron ore prices. 

Based on the current share price, that translates to a dividend yield of around 6.1% for FY26, and around 5% for FY27.

How many Fortescue shares do I need to generate $1,000 per month in passive income?

At the time of writing, Fortescue shares are $17.61 each.

That means, for the $1.08 per share dividend in FY26, investors would need to buy roughly 11,111 shares to generate around $1,000 per month (or $12,000 per year) in passive income.

To earn the same amount in FY27, assuming the miner pays the forecasted 86.4 cents per share dividend, investors would need to buy around 13,888 shares.

What would that cost me?

In order to buy the 11,111 Fortesce shares needed to generate the equivalent of a $1,000 per month passive income in FY26, you would need to invest around $196,000.

For the same level of passive income in FY27, investors would need to spend around $245,000 on the mining shares.

It’s not a small investment, but it’s one that could pay off over the long term.

And remember, you don’t have to invest the full amount at once. You can slowly build your investment over time and let compound growth do the rest.

The post How many Fortescue shares do I need to buy to earn $1,000 per month in passive income? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies 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.

There is plenty of discourse around artificial intelligence and the lack of exposure available through Australian stocks. 

While it’s true that Australia doesn’t have a direct equivalent to Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) or the major US technology giants driving the AI revolution, that doesn’t mean Australian investors are shut out of the opportunity. 

The AI buildout requires far more than chips and software. It also requires vast amounts of data-centre capacity, electricity, land and connectivity.

For investors looking to gain exposure to the artificial intelligence boom through Australian equities, these companies offer three different ways of owning the physical infrastructure behind AI. 

Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT)

NEXTDC offers perhaps the most direct Australian exposure to the physical infrastructure required to power the AI boom. 

The company operates high-performance data centres that house the servers, GPUs and networking equipment. This is used by cloud providers, enterprises and AI companies. 

As AI models become more computationally intensive, demand is shifting towards high-density data centres with significantly greater power and advanced liquid-cooling capabilities. 

These are areas in which NEXTDC is investing heavily. 

The argument for NextDC is quite straight forward. 

If the world needs dramatically more computing power to develop and run AI, it needs dramatically more data-centre capacity to house that computing power.

Experts seem to agree. UBS recently placing a buy rating with a $23.45 target, implying more than an 80% upside.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Goodman Group provides a less obvious, but potentially powerful, way to gain exposure to the AI buildout. 

While traditionally known as a global logistics property group, Goodman has been rapidly expanding into data-centre infrastructure.

Its competitive advantage lies in controlling the land, power and development capability needed to build large-scale facilities. 

This is increasingly important because AI data centres are constrained by demand. They are also constrained by access to suitable sites, electricity and network connectivity. 

In other words, Goodman is a way to invest in the scarce physical resources that AI infrastructure needs.

It has also drawn positive attention from experts this month. 

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport sits further up the AI infrastructure stack, providing the connectivity that allows data, cloud platforms and computing resources to communicate with one another. 

AI workloads are extraordinarily data-intensive, requiring fast, reliable connections between data centres, cloud providers, GPUs and end users. 

Megaport operates a software-defined networking platform spanning more than 1,200 enabled data centres and 30 countries, making it a potential beneficiary as AI drives greater volumes of data across networks.

Brokers are expecting almost 40% share price growth in the next 12 months on the back of its recent earnings results. 

The post You don’t need to own Nvidia to invest in AI – Here are the best Aussie artificial intelligence shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

It has been a volatile year for S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) stock Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD). 

The company is an agribusiness that provides goods and services to Australian primary producers. 

It sells seed, fertiliser, agricultural chemicals, animal health products, and general rural merchandise. It also supplies professional and technical services to farmers via its network of agronomists.

Rollercoaster 12 months 

In the past 12 months, the ASX 300 stock has hit highs of nearly $8 per share, and lows of less than $5 per share. 

Back in June, it was hovering around the $5 mark, but has since rallied significantly. 

Since then, it has risen an impressive 30%. 

When ASX 300 stocks bounce around this significantly, it can be difficult for investors to identify fair value.

However, a new report from Bell Potter has provided a fresh outlook for the next 12 months. 

Slight downgrade

Overall, Bell Potter has downgraded Elders from buy to hold. The broker also slightly increased its target price from $6.45 to $6.70 per share.

The main reason for the downgrade is that Elders’ underlying earnings drivers remain positive. However, growth is starting to moderate as the company faces tougher year-on-year comparisons.

Agency markets remain supportive. Cattle slaughter and yardings are both up 2% year on year, while cattle prices are up 23%. 

Sheep volumes have fallen significantly, but this has been offset by stronger pricing, with lamb prices up 21% and mutton prices up 40%. Wool volumes are expected to be broadly flat to slightly higher, while the EMI is up 43%.

The broker also identified that crop conditions are favourable.

Recent upgrades to Australian crop forecasts, supported by rainfall, should help demand for Elders’ agricultural services, particularly in Western Australia and southeastern Australia. 

However, the forecast for summer crop acreage was weaker than expected, at 1.121 million hectares, down 17% year-on-year.

Minimal upside for ASX 300 stock

Overall, Bell Potter expects FY26 earnings to be broadly unchanged, with NPAT estimates revised by +1% for FY26, -2% for FY27 and -4% for FY28. 

The broker believes the business remains fundamentally sound, but the earnings tailwinds are easing, which supports a Hold rather than Buy rating.

From yesterday’s closing price, the updated target from Bell Potter indicates roughly 3% upside over the next 12 months. 

Following the recent recovery in the share price we are moving our rating from Buy to Hold. 

Investments in Delta and Systems Modernisation programs are the largest drivers of near term growth, however, we see the large livestock tailwinds the agency business has benefited from the past two years facing more difficult comparisons moving forward.

The post This ASX 300 stock has rebounded 30% from yearly lows – can it keep rallying? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Bell 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 Elders. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.