Best Australian Stocks: October 2026
Quality 89: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high return on equity. Momentum 80: estimates revised up and above its moving averages. Value 56: a high yield but far above book value.
October 2026 edition · data as of ·5 new, 5 out, biggest climb VGN.AX since September·Next edition forms ·How we score stocks·How past rankings did·All Australia stocks, refreshed daily
Top 25 Australian Stocks by StockRank
- New in October 2026: Emeco Holdings Limited EHL.AX, SKS Technologies Group Limited SKS.AX, WCM Global Growth Limited WQG.AX, L1 Group Limited L1G.AX, AIC Mines Limited A1M.AX
- Dropped out: Helia Group Limited HLI.AX, New Murchison Gold Limited NMG.AX, Newmont Corporation NEM.AX, Capstone Copper Corp. CSC.AX, Resolute Mining Limited RSG.AX
- Biggest climbs: Virgin Australia Holdings Limited VGN.AX #22 to #10, Orezone Gold Corporation ORE.AX #18 to #8, SHAPE Australia Corporation Limited SHA.AX #19 to #9
- Biggest falls: ResMed Inc. RMD.AX #13 to #20, Aurelia Metals Limited AMI.AX #11 to #16, Perenti Limited PRN.AX #9 to #11
What changed since September: 5 new, 5 out
- New in October 2026: Emeco Holdings Limited EHL.AX, SKS Technologies Group Limited SKS.AX, WCM Global Growth Limited WQG.AX, L1 Group Limited L1G.AX, AIC Mines Limited A1M.AX
- Dropped out: Helia Group Limited HLI.AX, New Murchison Gold Limited NMG.AX, Newmont Corporation NEM.AX, Capstone Copper Corp. CSC.AX, Resolute Mining Limited RSG.AX
- Biggest climbs: Virgin Australia Holdings Limited VGN.AX #22 to #10, Orezone Gold Corporation ORE.AX #18 to #8, SHAPE Australia Corporation Limited SHA.AX #19 to #9
- Biggest falls: ResMed Inc. RMD.AX #13 to #20, Aurelia Metals Limited AMI.AX #11 to #16, Perenti Limited PRN.AX #9 to #11
| # | Stock | Yield | P/E | Score | Q | V | M | Style · Activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yield 4.4% | P/E 12.5 | 100 Score | 89 Q | 56 V | 80 M | Full House | ||
| 2 | Quality 85: high return on equity and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Value 69: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on P/E. Momentum 69: estimates revised up and near its 52-week high. | Yield — | P/E 6.4 | 99 Score | 85 Q | 69 V | 69 M | Full House | |
| 3 | Quality 88: strong free cash flow and high return on equity. Value 75: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on P/E. Momentum 56: quarterly earnings growing but estimates cut. | Yield 4.0% | P/E 8.3 | 99 Score | 88 Q | 75 V | 56 M | Full House | |
| 4 | Quality 90: wide operating margins and high return on equity. Momentum 80: near its 52-week high and above its moving averages. Value 49: cheap on P/E but expensive on sales. | Yield — | P/E 11.9 | 99 Score | 90 Q | 49 V | 80 M | Premium Grower | |
| 5 | Momentum 79: near its 52-week high and estimates revised up. Quality 71: strong free cash flow and high gross profitability. Value 69: cheap on free cash flow and cheap on sales. | Yield 4.5% | P/E 24.0 | 99 Score | 71 Q | 69 V | 79 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 6 | Momentum 84: estimates revised up and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 82: F-Score 4/4 and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Value 51: cheap on EV/EBITDA but far above book value. | Yield 1.2% | P/E 24.4 | 99 Score | 82 Q | 51 V | 84 M | Full House | |
| 7 | Quality 85: wide operating margins and high gross profitability. Momentum 79: estimates revised up and near its 52-week high. Value 51: cheap on EV/EBITDA but expensive on free cash flow. | Yield 2.1% | P/E 15.0 | 99 Score | 85 Q | 51 V | 79 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 8 | Momentum 87: near its 52-week high and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 74: high gross profitability and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Value 53: cheap on EV/EBITDA but expensive on free cash flow. | Yield — | P/E 12.5 | 98 Score | 74 Q | 53 V | 87 M | Full House | |
| 9 | Quality 78: high return on equity and strong free cash flow. Momentum 77: near its 52-week high and estimates revised up. Value 56: a high yield but far above book value. | Yield 4.5% | P/E 19.1 | 98 Score | 78 Q | 56 V | 77 M | Full House | |
| 10 | Value 77: cheap on P/E and cheap on EV/EBITDA. Momentum 69: quarterly earnings growing and estimates revised up. Quality 65: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high return on equity. | Yield 2.8% | P/E 4.3 | 98 Score | 65 Q | 77 V | 69 M | Full House | |
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| 11 | Momentum 72: estimates revised up and EPS improving. Value 70: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on sales. Quality 69: F-Score 8/9 and high gross profitability. | Yield 3.5% | P/E 25.1 | 98 Score | 69 Q | 70 V | 72 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 12 | Quality 88: wide operating margins and high gross profitability. Momentum 84: estimates revised up and quarterly earnings growing. Value 38: expensive on sales. | Yield — | P/E 18.1 | 98 Score | 88 Q | 38 V | 84 M | Premium Grower | |
| 13 | Momentum 85: near its 52-week high and estimates revised up. Quality 66: F-Score 8/9 and wide operating margins. Value 57: below book value. | Yield 2.3% | P/E 20.6 | 97 Score | 66 Q | 57 V | 85 M | Full HouseBuybackDeep dive → | |
| 14 | Momentum 80: near its 52-week high and estimates revised up. Value 76: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on free cash flow. Quality 52: strong free cash flow but a tight balance sheet. | Yield 2.0% | P/E 27.5 | 97 Score | 52 Q | 76 V | 80 M | Full House | |
| 15 | Quality 86: high return on equity and high gross profitability. Value 65: cheap on P/E and cheap on EV/EBITDA. Momentum 56: estimates revised up but estimates cut. | Yield 3.9% | P/E 5.1 | 97 Score | 86 Q | 65 V | 56 M | Full House | |
| 16 | Momentum 83: estimates revised up and above its moving averages. Quality 64: wide operating margins and high return on equity. Value 60: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on P/E. | Yield 2.2% | P/E 9.7 | 97 Score | 64 Q | 60 V | 83 M | Full House | |
| 17 | Value 78: a high yield and cheap on free cash flow. Quality 65: strong free cash flow and high gross profitability. Momentum 63: estimates revised up and outperforming the market over 6 months. | Yield 11.5% | P/E 10.8 | 97 Score | 65 Q | 78 V | 63 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 18 | Momentum 74: estimates revised up and quarterly earnings growing. Quality 70: F-Score 6/6 and high gross profitability. Value 62: cheap on sales and a high yield; EV/EBITDA and P/FCF excluded. | Yield 7.9% | P/E 9.7 | 97 Score | 70 Q | 62 V | 74 M | Full House | |
| 19 | Value 80: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on P/E. Quality 68: F-Score 8/9 and high gross profitability. Momentum 58: estimates revised up but quarterly earnings shrinking. | Yield — | P/E 7.7 | 97 Score | 68 Q | 80 V | 58 M | Full HouseBuyback | |
| 20 | Quality 88: strong free cash flow and F-Score 8/9. Value 62: cheap on EV/EBITDA and below book value. Momentum 55: estimates revised up. | Yield 1.1% | P/E 21.7 | 97 Score | 88 Q | 62 V | 55 M | Full House | |
| 21 | Momentum 81: near its 52-week high and estimates revised up. Quality 67: high gross profitability and strong free cash flow. Value 57: cheap on free cash flow. | Yield 2.3% | P/E 21.5 | 96 Score | 67 Q | 57 V | 81 M | Full House | |
| 22 | Momentum 93: near its 52-week high and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 88: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high gross profitability. Value 24: far above book value. | Yield 1.3% | P/E 40.0 | 96 Score | 88 Q | 24 V | 93 M | Premium Grower | |
| 23 | Momentum 80: outperforming the market over 6 months and quarterly earnings growing. Quality 77: wide operating margins and low debt. Value 47: cheap on P/E but expensive on sales; EV/EBITDA and P/FCF excluded. | Yield 4.1% | P/E 7.7 | 96 Score | 77 Q | 47 V | 80 M | Premium Grower | |
| 24 | Quality 88: high gross profitability and strong free cash flow. Momentum 67: estimates revised up and quarterly earnings growing. Value 50: cheap on EV/EBITDA but far above book value. | Yield 2.7% | P/E 18.2 | 96 Score | 88 Q | 50 V | 67 M | Premium Grower | |
| 25 | Momentum 89: estimates revised up and near its 52-week high. Quality 65: interest well covered and wide operating margins. Value 51: cheap on EV/EBITDA. | Yield — | P/E 16.0 | 96 Score | 65 Q | 51 V | 89 M | Full House | |
Ranked by StockRank (Quality + Value + Momentum composite) at a minimum market cap of $250M. Yield and P/E are as of the data date; click a ticker for today’s price and score. A new edition is generated on the first scoring run of each month.
Active share buybacks in the 180 days to : Australian Clinical Labs Limited ACL.AX, Perseus Mining Limited PRU.AX, Perenti Limited PRN.AX, Ansell Limited ANN.AX, IPH Limited IPH.AX, Emeco Holdings Limited EHL.AX
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How Australia scores
Where the top 25 come from, and how the whole Australian market sits against the global universe. StockRank is a global percentile, so the universe splits evenly into five bands by construction; a market that piles up on the right is scoring well as a whole.
Top 25 by sector
- Basic Materials12
- Industrials5
- Financial Services3
- Healthcare3
- Technology2
Share of Australian stocks by StockRank band
- 0-1926% / 20%
- 20-3923% / 20%
- 40-5915% / 20%
- 60-7917% / 20%
- 80-10019% / 20%
Australiaall markets
Dividends, Dirt and the Quiet Compounders
The ASX pairs the developed world's most generous dividend culture with a resource sector that sits at the front of every commodity cycle. Between the banks-and-miners core lies a strong tail of healthcare, software and industrial franchises that compound quietly. The list below is where the factors align.
MoatMap scored 831 Australian stocks on 2026-10-01; 445 cleared the $250M market-cap floor this list applies. The market's average StockRank is 46. Basic Materials is the most represented sector in the top 10 (6 names).
Australia's franking system makes it structurally the most dividend-oriented developed market: companies attach tax credits to dividends paid from taxed profits, so domestic investors are paid to demand payouts, and boards oblige. For foreign investors the franking credit itself isn't claimable, but the culture it creates (high payout ratios, capital discipline, regular capital returns) benefits everyone on the register. Fully-franked dividends also carry no Australian withholding tax for foreign holders.
The index core is a bank oligopoly plus the world's lowest-cost iron-ore producers: businesses whose earnings swing with China's construction cycle and the domestic housing market. The screen's more interesting output usually comes from the next tier down: ASX-listed healthcare and biotech (a genuine national strength), infrastructure-like industrials, and a software cohort that emerged in the 2010s. These are the names that score on Quality while the miners rotate through Value and Momentum.
Disclosure is granular and fast: director dealings file as Appendix 3Y notices within five business days, substantial shareholders at the 5% threshold, and on-market buybacks as daily Appendix 3C notices, all of which MoatMap ingests. When an ASX name below shows recent director buying, the paper trail is public and specific.
Related reading: Best Australian Stocks 2026: the full ASX thesis →
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the top-ranked Australian stocks right now?
- The table above ranks MoatMap's top 25 ASX-listed stocks by StockRank, a composite of Quality, Value and Momentum percentiles. It refreshes monthly with a stated data date, and each ticker links to a full breakdown including ASX filing history.
- What are franking credits and do foreigners get them?
- Franking credits pass company tax paid through to shareholders as a credit against their own tax, the engine of Australia's dividend culture. Foreign investors can't use the credits, but fully-franked dividends carry no Australian withholding tax, so the cash yield still arrives intact. Unfranked dividends withhold at up to 30% (often 15% by treaty).
- Is the ASX too dependent on iron ore and banks?
- The index is concentrated, which is exactly why a screen helps: outside the top 20 sit globally competitive healthcare names, software businesses and specialised industrials whose fortunes don't track Chinese steel demand. The sector column above shows how the current list splits between the resource cycle and the compounders.
- When do Australian companies pay dividends?
- Most ASX companies report semi-annually and pay two dividends a year (interim and final), rather than the quarterly rhythm US investors expect. Resource companies flex the payout with the cycle; special dividends in fat years are common.
- How often does this Australia ranking refresh?
- A new edition forms on the first scoring run of each calendar month and the page states its data-as-of date. For a daily view, use the ranked-stocks screener filtered to Australia.