Payday superannuation has been the reality for a little over two months. The real question is: has it made you better off?

Employers have been required to pay super at the same time as wages since 1 July 2026.

That replaced a quarterly system that had operated for decades.

What payday superannuation changed

Under the old rules, employers paid contributions quarterly, with payment due within 28 days of each quarter’s end.

Money deducted as super could therefore sit with an employer for up to three months before reaching a fund.

Under the new rules, contributions must reach the employee’s fund within seven business days of payday.

The rate stays at 12%, now calculated on qualifying earnings rather than ordinary time earnings, a slightly broader base that includes relevant salary sacrifice amounts.

A first contribution for a new employee has a longer 20 business day window.

There is no grace period after that, and the Australian Taxation Office now assesses the Super Guarantee Charge itself rather than relying on employer self-assessment.

The superannuation benefit is there, but it is small

Two months in, the practical effect for a fortnightly paid worker is that roughly five pay cycles of contributions are already invested.

Under the old system, most of that money would still be sitting with the employer until late October.

Treasury modelling estimates the change could add around $6,000 to the retirement savings of the average 25-year-old over a full working career.

The larger benefit is visibility.

Unpaid super used to take months to surface, particularly in casual, labour hire and contract roles.

Under payday rules, a missing contribution shows up within weeks.

Where your superannuation goes matters more

This is the part worth spending time on.

More frequent contributions only compound if the money is invested sensibly once it lands.

The Australian portion of most balances is easy to benchmark.

For example, the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) tracks the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) and charges 0.07% a year.

In FY26 it delivered a total gross return of 6.19%, or 6.12% after fees.

The index itself gained 2.84% in value and paid a 3.32% dividend yield.

With $25.4 billion in funds under management, it remains the largest ETF on the ASX.

Foolish takeaway

Payday superannuation has made most Australians marginally better off, and it has made underpayment far harder to hide.

Neither of those is a reason to change what you own.

The timing of contributions is worth thousands over a career, while the investment option you sit in is worth hundreds of thousands.

I would spend ten minutes confirming the money is arriving, then spend considerably longer checking that your superannuation is in a risk setting that matches how long you have until you need it.

The post Payday superannuation is two months old. Has it made you better off? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven 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.

It has been a pretty horrible day on the Australian share market.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 1.56% to 8,772 points on Thursday afternoon, putting it on track for its worst session in 6 months.

But you wouldn’t know it looking at Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1).

Megaport shares are up another 3.40% to $18.26 today and have now climbed more than 10% over the past week.

I have been watching this one closely since investors smashed the share price after its FY26 results last month.

Personally, I think the market went too far.

And with the shares starting to move higher again, I think $25 could be back on the table sooner than many investors expect.

Why did Megaport shares get smashed?

Megaport was trading above $22 in August before falling as low as $16 earlier this month.

The big concern was spending.

Management expects capital expenditure of between $1.28 billion and $1.38 billion in FY27 as the company pours money into its growing compute business.

That is obviously a huge number for a company with a market capitalisation of around $4.3 billion.

But I think investors became so focused on the spending that some of the growth numbers were pushed aside.

FY26 revenue increased 37% to $312.2 million, while group annual recurring revenue jumped 62% to $395.2 million.

EBITDA came in at $77.1 million, with a margin of 25%.

And FY27 could be a much bigger year.

Megaport expects revenue of between $620 million and $730 million, meaning revenue could at least double this year.

There is a lot happening here

The part I like is that Megaport isn’t simply spending billions and hoping customers eventually turn up.

The company has already signed several large contracts.

Its three major deals through Latitude.sh are worth around US$359 million combined and cover GPU and CPU compute, networking and storage.

Megaport also operates across more than 1,200 enabled data centres in 30 countries.

With AI requiring huge amounts of computing power and data to move between different locations, I think Megaport is sitting in a pretty good spot if demand continues growing.

Of course, management still needs to execute.

But I believe the recent sell-off gave investors a much better entry price than they had only a few weeks ago.

Could Megaport shares reach $25?

I think they can.

Morgans and Morgan Stanley both have $25 price targets on Megaport shares, while Citi recently lifted its target to $24.60.

A move to $25 would mean another gain of around 38% from today’s price.

I’m not saying it will happen in a straight line. Megaport has shown us plenty of times how quickly its share price can move in both directions.

But if the company keeps delivering on its contracts and investors remain positive heading into year-end, I think $25 during the Christmas rally is very possible.

The post Megaport shares have surged 10% in a week to $18. I think they could hit $25 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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.

JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH), GPT Group Ltd (ASX: GPT), and Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC) shares have tumbled to an annual low in Thursday lunchtime trade as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) comes under more pressure.

Here’s what has happened, and what brokers tip next.

Charter Hall shares

The diversified property funds manager’s shares have fallen 2% to an annual low of $18.03 at the time of writing. The latest decline means the shares have now crashed 24% over the past month and they’re 27% lower for the year-to-date.

There hasn’t been any price sensitive announcement out of the company this week. Instead it looks like it has been hit by a series of headwinds, including higher-than-expected inflation figures and a weakening property market. Concerns about further interest rate hikes are also putting pressure on property-related stocks across the sector.

Even the company’s robust FY26 result announcement late last month didn’t do enough to reignite investor confidence. Management announced a 26.8% increase in operating earnings, gross property transactions of $17.1 billion and the launch of multiple new funds and partnerships.

The experts are still bullish that there will be some upside ahead. Market Index data shows that the majority have a strong buy rating on Charter Hall shares. The $24.14 average target price implies around a 33% upside ahead, at the time of writing.

GPT Group shares

As one of Australia’s largest listed property trusts, GPT is facing the same headwinds as Charter Hall shares this week.

The company, which owns and manages a portfolio of Australian office, logistics, and retail assets, with funds under management of more than $36 billion, is highly sensitive to shifts in property market sentiment.

Its shares are also down around 2% today, to an annual low of $4.41 each. Over the past month the shares have crashed 16%, and they’re now 20% lower for the year-to-date.

The company also posted a solid first-half FY26 result last month, including a statutory net profit after tax of $400.1 million for the half year, and a reported investment portfolio occupancy of 97.6%.

Experts are also bullish about the share price outlook over the next 12 months. Market Index data shows the majority have a strong buy rating on GPT Group shares, and the $5.33 average target price implies an upside of around 19%, at the time of writing,

JB Hi-Fi shares

JB Hi-Fi shares are also down around 2% in Thursday lunchtime trade, and changing hands at a two-year low of $64.70 at the time of writing. Over the past month, the shares have fallen 23%, and they’re 33% lower year-to-date.

Consumer discretionary stocks like JB Hi-Fi have come under pressure recently amid market concerns about higher interest rates, inflation, and weaker consumer confidence.

And it looks like the company’s FY26 results in late August further dampened confidence. Management posted record revenue of $11.06 billion, up 4.8% from FY25. Meanwhile, EBIT increased 5.8% to $734.4 million. On the bottom line, the company reported a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $489.9 million, up 6% year-on-year. After delivering higher profit, management declared a final fully franked dividend of $1.27 per share.

But looking ahead, JB Hi-Fi said it expects a variable trading environment in the short term but notes ongoing resilience among its brands and flagged that the company saw a slight dip in sales in July. 

Investors were clearly spooked, and analysts also seem on the fence about the share price outlook. Market Index data shows broker ratings are split between a buy and a hold. However, after the latest selloff, the $79.34 average target price now implies 21% potential upside.

The post JB Hi-Fi, GPT Group, Charter Hall shares hit 52-week low: Is there any chance of a rebound? 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.