Jefferies' post-reporting season call
Following the August 2026 reporting season, Jefferies identified five stock picks within the technology, media and telecommunications sector that it prefers amid what it describes as uncertain economic conditions. The investment bank emphasized companies with strong balance sheets and pricing power as being best positioned, and assigned buy ratings and explicit price targets to each selected name.
Top picks and rationale
- Carsales.com (ASX:CAR) - Buy; price target $33.50. Jefferies said selling pressure tied to MSCI index removal has ended. The broker expects domestic pricing power to persist given healthy dealer profitability. It highlighted the US division as highly diversified and capable of growth regardless of economic cycles. In Brazil, an ownership change at competitor iCarros creates an opportunity for Webmotors to capture market share. Carsales trades at 22 times price-to-earnings.
- REA Group (ASX:REA) - Buy; price target $195.00. Jefferies argued REA can still deliver double-digit yield growth even with a challenging housing market. The report notes the Luxe add-on is outperforming expectations and that property sellers are unlikely to downgrade listings because REA delivers higher-quality leads relative to Domain. REA is trading near its price-to-earnings ratio bottom from 2019.
- Megaport (ASX:MP1) - Buy; price target $26.00. Jefferies pointed to continued strong demand for compute and storage and rising GPU rental prices. The firm interprets Nvidia’s decision to pause support to neocloud startups as a positive for Megaport. Jefferies also said Megaport has sufficient liquidity to fund committed capital expenditure in fiscal 2027 with an additional $500 million in headroom. The core network business is showing organic annual recurring revenue growth of 24% year-over-year.
- Infratil (NZX:IFT) - Buy; price target NZ$17.70. Jefferies noted the stock trades at a 20% discount to net asset value. The broker said CDC - which represents 49% of Infratil’s valuation - has more than 800 megawatts coming online by fiscal 2029 and a further 2.6 gigawatts in the pipeline. One NZ accounts for 15% of valuation and remains cash-generative, per Jefferies.
- Life360 (ASX:360) - Buy; price targets $61.00 for US shares and $29.00 for Australian shares. Jefferies expects a stronger fourth quarter driven by advertising, monthly active user growth and price increases. Sensor Tower data for August is cited as showing continued growth in monthly active users. The firm added that Life360 has been oversold, presenting a buying opportunity alongside Megaport.
Jefferies view on market positioning
The common thread in Jefferies’ selections is an emphasis on durable pricing power, diversified revenue drivers and liquidity to support capital plans. The broker flagged MP1 and 360 as having been oversold, which it views as attractive entry points given their operational trajectories.
Context and constraints
Jefferies framed these calls against a backdrop of uncertain economic conditions, underscoring balance-sheet strength as a differentiator. The firm did not assign probabilities to outcomes beyond the stated price targets and ratings.
Note: This article reports Jefferies’ published assessments, price targets and the specific figures contained in their commentary.