Reporting season is finishing and investors have received a great insight into the performance of ASX shares.

Following the FY26 numbers and comments on the outlook, share prices moved, and now investors have to decide whether these businesses are opportunities.

Let’s look at two ASX shares that are heavily backed by multiple analysts, suggesting they could be opportunities.

Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN)

Qantas is the largest Australian airline business. It also operates Jetstar, a freight business, and Qantas loyalty.

Despite difficult trading conditions amid the negative effects of the Middle East conflict, fuel cost impacts, and so on, Qantas was still able to generate a good level of earnings.

Its FY26 underlying profit before tax declined $330 million to $2.06 billion. The statutory net profit dropped $316 million to $1.29 billion. Qantas said the net impact of the Middle East was reportedly $420 million during FY27.

Despite the challenges, Qantas’ customer net promoter score (NPS) improved by 7 points, and Jetstar’s NPS rose by 1 point.

In terms of the outlook, Qantas said that travel demand remains resilient as customers continue to prioritise travel. Airfares are expected to increase, though jet fuel prices are also expected to remain elevated.

Qantas loyalty is expected to grow underlying operating profit (EBIT) by between 5% to 7% in FY27. By FY30, it’s aiming for between $800 million and $1 billion of underlying EBIT.

Qantas is looking to reduce costs by approximately $475 million to help offset inflation.

According to CMC Invest, there have been 11 ratings on the ASX share in the last three months, all of which were buy ratings. Analysts are very positive on the airline right now.

Generation Development Group Ltd (ASX: GDG)

The financial business is involved in a number of areas. Generation Life is a market leader in investment bonds and lifetime annuities. Lonsec Research and Ratings is one of Australia’s leading qualitative financial research houses. Evidentia is one of Australia’s leading companies in the managed account sector.

Generation Development saw strong growth in FY26. Group funds under management (FUM) rose 37% to $46.5 billion, with net inflows of $9.7 billion (up 19%).

Within FUM, investment bonds FUM rose 35% to $5.95 billion and managed accounts FUM increased 37% to $40.5 billion.

Total revenue grew 23% to $178.7 million, and underlying net profit rose 21% to $40.7 million.

Generation Development said that its FY27 is supported by favourable long-term growth trends and remains “well positioned to benefit from ongoing adviser adoption and structural growth across retirement, managed accounts, independent investment research and investment governance solutions”.

It expects strong growth in FUM, supported by ongoing adviser adoption and market penetration.

According to CommSec, there are currently nine analyst buy ratings on the business.

These two ASX shares could be appealing opportunities, among other potential buys.

The post 2 ASX shares highly recommended to buy: Experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares are having a rough start to the week after the gold miner announced another change to its senior leadership team.

At the time of writing, the Northern Star share price is down 5.45% to $23.43.

The stock opened at $23.71 and has fallen as low as $23.37 during the session, after closing at $24.78 on Friday.

The S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index (ASX: XJR) is also having a weak day, falling around 2%.

So, what has changed at Northern Star?

Another executive is leaving

According to the release, Northern Star chief financial officer Ryan Gurner will leave the company on 30 November after more than 11 years with the gold miner.

Gurner was appointed deputy CEO in July and only stepped into the interim CEO role on 29 August following the departure of long-time boss Stuart Tonkin.

He will stay in the top job until Suresh Vadnagra starts as managing director and CEO on 5 October.

After that, Gurner will return to his CFO role and help with the leadership handover before leaving Northern Star at the end of November.

General manager of finance, Philip Coetzer, has been appointed acting CFO while Gurner is serving as interim CEO.

The company will also begin looking for a permanent replacement in the CFO role.

Chairman Michael Chaney thanked Gurner for his contribution, saying his “financial acumen, integrity and leadership” had played a significant role in Northern Star’s growth.

Plenty of changes at the top

The latest announcement adds to what has already been a busy few months across Northern Star’s leadership team.

Tonkin finished up last week after more than a decade with the company, while Vadnagra is preparing to take over in October.

Chaney is also due to retire at the annual general meeting in November, with Michael Ashforth set to become chairman.

All of this is happening while activist investor Elliott Management continues to push for changes at the gold miner.

Elliott has criticised Northern Star over operational issues, cost overruns, and its strategic direction, while calling for changes to the board and a wider review of the business.

Earlier this month, it also released a list of potential directors it would like to see considered, including former Anglo American chief executive, Mark Cutifani.

Foolish takeaway

Today’s fall comes after a strong run through August.

Northern Star shares are still almost 18% higher over the past month, although they remain down roughly 12% since the start of 2026.

The stock is also well below its 52-week high of $31.96.

The post Northern Star shares slide 5% as investors digest another surprise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Liontown, Northern Star and Telstra shares are turning heads on Monday
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• Why gold stocks have regained their shine: Expert
• Northern Star shares are closing in on $25. Can the rally keep going?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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.

Leading ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be the best way to invest in this period of uncertainty. I believe high-quality stocks are more likely to deliver satisfactory returns.

The two ASX ETFs I’m going to highlight have among the highest quality portfolios due to how they choose their holdings.

Over the long-term, I think the two funds below are extremely attractive.

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

This ASX ETF aims to give investors exposure to a portfolio of high-quality US companies, which is where many of the leading global companies are listed.

The MOAT ETF uses a two-step process to ensure it maintains a high-quality portfolio that can perform over the long term.

Firstly, the fund wants to invest in businesses that have wide economic moats (competitive advantages). To achieve a wide economic rating, Morningstar analysts need to think that the company’s economic moat will almost certainly endure for the next decade and more likely than not for the next two decades.

In other words, these are some of the best, long-term companies that we can find in the US.

Competitive advantages can come in a variety of forms, such as cost advantages, intangible assets (patents, brands, regulatory licenses), switching costs, network effect, and efficient scale.

The second factor that the MOAT ETF looks for is a compelling valuation. Target companies must be trading at attractive prices relative to Morningstar’s estimate of fair value.

Over the long term, this ASX ETF has performed strongly for investors. Over the past 10 years, the MOAT ETF has returned an average of 14.3% per year. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance, of course.

Betashares Global Quality Leaders ETF (ASX: QLTY)

The other fund I want to highlight is the QLTY ETF, which uses multiple factors to decide which are the highest-quality stocks in the world and invests in the top ones.

The four factors that go into choosing stocks for the portfolio include a high return on equity (ROE), low debt levels, earnings stability, and cash flow generation.

A high ROE says that the business earns a high level of profit for how much shareholder money is retained within the business. It may also suggest the business can generate strong returns on future additional retained earnings.

Having low levels of debt is likely a great sign of business health and helps it weather economic uncertainty.

Earnings stability helps protect the business during downturns (and perhaps it means less volatility for the share price, too). Plus, if earnings don’t fall, then that likely means profit is rising, which can help power shareholder returns.

Finally, cash flow is the best sign that a company’s profit generation is turning into real money that’s flowing into the bank account.

With 150 holdings from across the world, I think the ASX ETF offers pleasing diversification with good potential returns. Since inception in November 2018, the QLTY ETF has returned an average of 13.6% per year.  

The post 2 incredible ASX ETFs I’d buy for long-term returns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 strong ASX ETFs I’d buy to try and beat the market
• Why these ASX ETFs are on my watchlist
• Here are 3 top Betashares ETFs I’d buy now
• 3 strong ASX ETFs for smart investors to buy and hold
• 2 amazing ASX ETFs I’d buy and hold for the next decade

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat 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 VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.