Top 5 ASX tech shares to watch in 2026

What are tech shares?

Tech shares represent the stocks of companies publicly listed within the expansive technology sector. While defining this category can be challenging, it encompasses a diverse array of industries, including semiconductor manufacturers, smartphone makers, software companies and more.

What’s more, many industries rely on tech to make their businesses function – think of pharmaceuticals running clinical trials or warehouses picking and packing.

So, the broad spectrum of tech shares makes it tricky to choose which ones might perform well. But with that in mind, we’ve selected five ASX-listed tech stocks to watch right now in 2026. We’ll give you more information on how we picked these later in this article.

About Australian tech shares

While the Australian equities market is known for being dominated by finance and resource shares, it's also home to some outstanding tech companies that are global leaders when it comes to breakthrough innovations.

Australia is an advanced economy, home to some of the world's most highly ranked tertiary institutions and research groups. This deep pool of knowledge and expertise has enabled our country to nurture leading tech companies that punch well above their weight in global terms.

In addition to Australia’s outstanding tertiary education system, our tech sector also benefits from the country's excellent legal and financial systems, which help create certainty and trust for share traders.

Advantages of trading tech shares

There are a couple reasons why trading tech shares might be a good move for your portfolio:

• Innovation exposure: Tech stocks are often on the cutting-edge of the latest technology, like AI, giving traders access to innovation in their portfolios
• Rapid expansion: Due to the fast-paced nature of technological advancements, tech shares often exhibit substantial growth, potentially enhancing your initial investment, provided you select the right ones

Risks of trading tech shares

Just as there are pros to trading tech shares, so exist potential downsides, too:

• Volatility: As with many other share categories, tech shares see a great deal of volatility due to a number of factors, such as supply chain disruptions, particularly when it comes to accessing tech to function – low supply of resources for hardware, for example, can hurt tech businesses
• Not always beginner-suitable: Because tech changes so quickly, its volatility can be hard for beginner share traders and CFD traders to navigate

Top 5 ASX tech shares to watch in 2026

We chose these five shares based on some compelling reasons, including:

• Diversification: They run the gamut of technology companies, from AI to electronics/appliance stores
• Recent performance: Either their share prices have risen significantly over the past six months, some by as much as 74.15%, or their share price history has been prone to substantial volatility

Overview of the ASX tech shares in this article 

The shares in our list can all be traded via CFDs with us, as well as via share trading the individual stocks with an IG share trading account.

All figures are correct as of 16 February 2026.

1. Appen Limited (ASX: APX)

Industry: Information technology services

Market cap: A$371.85 million¹

Appen is a data services company that supports the development of AI systems.

It provides high quality datasets used to train machine learning models in areas such as speech recognition, search engines and generative AI tools.

Its work sits behind many well-known global technology platforms, helping machines better understand human language and behaviour. As AI continues to expand across industries, the role of reliable training data remains essential.

Sentiment towards AI shares has shifted several times during the past six-month period, and Appen has tended to move in line with broader sector optimism and caution. Share traders have been weighing the company’s turnaround progress against competitive pressures and changing customer spending patterns. The result has been a stock that reacts quickly to news and industry developments.

Highlights:

• If the company succeeds in stabilising revenue and securing new large-scale contracts, sentiment could further improve
• For CFD traders, the share price’s volatility can create short-term trading opportunities, particularly around announcements or shifts in technology sector momentum
• For share traders, the key consideration is whether Appen can strengthen its competitive position in an increasingly crowded AI services market
• Its share price has increased by 65.36% over the past six months²

2. Elsight Limited (ASX: ELS)

Industry: Packaged software

Market cap: A$786.93 million³

Elsight develops connectivity solutions designed for unmanned and autonomous systems. Its core product aggregates multiple communication channels such as cellular and satellite networks into one stable link. This technology is particularly important for drones, defence applications and emergency services where uninterrupted communication is critical.

During the last six months, the company’s share price has reflected both optimism about growing demand for drone technology and caution typical of smaller growth companies. Interest has increased at times when new partnerships or commercial progress have been highlighted, while broader market weakness has also influenced performance.

Elsight offers exposure to a specialised and potentially expanding segment of the technology market. As industries increasingly adopt unmanned systems, reliable connectivity becomes more valuable. If the company can continue converting pilot programmes into repeat commercial contracts, confidence may build. On the other hand, smaller technology businesses can face funding pressures and longer sales cycles, which can test patience during quieter periods.

Highlights:

• For CFD traders, the company’s sensitivity to announcements can create trading opportunities, particularly when contract wins or defence developments are reported
• For share traders with a longer horizon, the main question is whether Elsight can scale its technology globally and maintain a technological edge in a competitive field
• The company’s share price has shot up by 74.15% over the past six months⁴

3. Service Stream Limited (ASX: SSM)

Industry: Miscellaneous commercial services

Market cap: A$1.36 billion⁵

Service Stream operates across telecommunications, utilities and transport infrastructure. While not a traditional software company, it supports critical networks that rely heavily on technology.

Its services include designing, building and maintaining communications and utility infrastructure, often under long-term contracts.

Over the past six months, Service Stream’s share price has shown steadier movement compared with many high growth tech stocks. Performance has been influenced by contract announcements and broader infrastructure spending trends rather than rapid shifts in technology sentiment. Investors have focused on operational execution and the company’s ability to secure ongoing work from government and major corporate clients.

Service Stream may appeal to those looking for exposure to technology enabled infrastructure without the sharp swings often seen in pure software businesses.

Highlights:

• For CFD traders, price movements may be more measured but can still respond to major contract wins or changes in infrastructure policy
• For share traders, the attraction lies in the company’s established relationships and diversified service offering
• Its share price has grown by 8.91% over the past six months and 39.24% over the past year. However, it’s had a sluggish start to 2026, with a decline of 0.90% in share price value year-to-date (YTD)⁶

4. Dicker Data Limited (ASX: DDR)

Industry: Electronics/appliance stores

Market cap: A$1.75 billion⁷

Dicker Data is a technology distributor that connects global hardware and software vendors with thousands of reseller partners across Australia and New Zealand. It supplies products ranging from servers and networking equipment to cloud solutions. Rather than developing its own technology, the company focuses on logistics, vendor relationships and efficient distribution.

In the last six months, Dicker Data’s share price has reflected broader trends in technology spending. As businesses reassess IT budgets and refresh cycles, demand can fluctuate. Sentiment has moved in response to expectations around AI related hardware demand and general economic conditions. The stock’s movements have tended to be less dramatic than smaller speculative tech names but still responsive to sector outlook changes.

Highlights:

• For CFD traders, opportunities may arise around earnings updates or shifts in IT spending sentiment
• For share traders, the focus could be on consistent execution, strong supplier relationships and the company’s ability to benefit from ongoing digital transformation trends without taking on excessive operational risk
• The company’s share price has grown by 10.57% over the past six months, but has seen substantial volatility during this period⁸

5. Macquarie Technology Group Limited (ASX: MAQ)

Industry: Specialty communications

Market cap: A$1.64 billion⁹

Macquarie Technology Group provides data centre services, cloud solutions, cybersecurity and telecommunications infrastructure. It focuses on secure, sovereign technology services for government and enterprise clients. Over time, the company has expanded its data centre footprint to support increasing demand for cloud computing and AI workloads.

Over the past six months, the share price has reflected a mix of optimism and caution. Expansion of data centre capacity and positioning within the AI infrastructure theme have supported interest. At the same time, capital intensive projects can weigh on short-term profitability expectations, leading to periods of consolidation in the share price.

As organisations prioritise data security and local hosting requirements, demand for reliable data centre services may continue to expand. However, growth requires ongoing investment, and returns can take time to materialise. This can result in fluctuating sentiment as projects move through development phases.

Highlights:

• While Macquarie Technology is a solid name in the tech sector, it’s recent six-month performance may make it more suitable for CFD traders looking for volatility in the markets right now
• The share price has seen a decline of 10.58% over the past six months, with a further drop of 23.72% over the past year.¹⁰

How to trade ASX tech shares with IG AU

CFDs

1. Open a CFD trading account with IG AU
2. Search for ASX tech shares on the IG platform
3. Decide whether to go long (buy) or short (sell)
4. Choose your position size
5. Set stop-loss and limit orders
6. Place your trade and monitor it

Share trading

1. Open a share trading account with IG AU
2. Search for ASX tech shares
3. Choose the shares you want to buy
4. Determine how many shares you want to purchase
5. Place your order
6. Monitor your investment and collect any dividends

FAQs about tech shares 

Footnotes
 

1. TradingView, February 2026
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