HIGHLIGHTS

  • WiseTech reported 1H26 total Revenue of $672 million (up 76%), driven by the consolidation of the e2open Acquisition, with organic CargoWise revenue growing 9% and EBITDA up 31% to $252.1 million.
  • Bell Potter has a BUY rating with a target of A$78.75 and Jefferies has a BUY with a target of A$72.00 — implying potential upside of 115% and 96% respectively from the current price of A$36.67.
  • The company is undergoing a deep AI transformation, including plans to reduce product, development, and Customer Service headcount by up to 50%, while reaffirming FY26 revenue guidance of $1.39–$1.44 billion.

WiseTech Global Limited (ASX:WTC), one of Australia's most significant software exporters and the developer of the globally deployed CargoWise logistics platform, has seen its share price fall approximately 64.01% over the past year to A$36.67 as of 14 May 2026. The stock fell a further 4.83% or A$1.86 on the day, continuing a period of pronounced investor uncertainty. Yet two institutional Brokers — Bell Potter Securities and Jefferies — are both calling the stock a BUY, with price targets of A$78.75 and A$72.00 respectively. These targets imply potential upside of 115% and 96% from current levels, making WiseTech one of the highest implied-return large-cap BUY calls currently active on the ASX.

The disconnect between the share price decline and the operational performance of the Business is striking. WiseTech has been growing revenue at extraordinary rates, completing a major acquisition in e2open, accelerating an AI transformation program, and delivering on integration synergies ahead of schedule. Understanding why the market has responded with such caution — and why the brokers remain firmly bullish — requires a careful examination of the company's half-year results, strategic priorities, and the risks that investors appear to be pricing in.

1H26 Financial Results: Transformative in Scale

WiseTech's financial results for the six months ended 31 December 2025 were dominated by the consolidation of e2open, the major US-based Supply chain software platform that WiseTech acquired in August 2025 for approximately $2.4 billion. Total revenue for the half was $672 million — up 76% on the prior half — with $372.4 million coming from the core CargoWise platform (up 12%) and the balance from e2open's five-month contribution. Organically, CargoWise revenue grew 9%, reflecting continued LGFF (large global freight forwarder) rollouts, price increases, and the transition to the new Value Pack commercial model.

EBITDA reached $252.1 million — up 31% on the prior period — though the EBITDA Margin compressed from 50% to 38% due to e2open consolidation, restructuring costs, and M&Amp;A expenses. Importantly, organic EBITDA (excluding e2open) was $208.4 million with an organic EBITDA margin of 51% — flat with the prior period — demonstrating that the core CargoWise business remains highly profitable. Underlying NPAT was $114.5 million, up 2%, while statutory NPAT fell 36% to $68.1 million due to increased intangible Amortisation and interest expenses related to the e2open acquisition.

The AI Transformation: The Most Audacious Bet in Australian Tech

Perhaps the most extraordinary element of WiseTech's strategic narrative is the scope and speed of its AI transformation. In announcing its 1H26 results, CEO Zubin Appoo stated explicitly: 'The era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over.' This is a remarkable public statement from the leader of a software company, and it is backed by concrete action.

WiseTech announced a phased headcount reduction of up to 50% initially in its product and development and customer service teams — across both WiseTech and e2open — as AI increasingly automates software development, defect resolution, and customer support workflows. This program is expected to affect approximately 2,000 roles in FY26 and into FY27. The financial logic is compelling: a structurally lower cost base, combined with the same or improved software output quality, creates Operating Leverage that would be reflected in significantly higher EBITDA margins over time.

The strategic argument is that AI-assisted development enables WiseTech to turn Investment into customer value faster, reduces the lead time for new product enhancements, and allows the company to scale product functionality without proportional headcount growth. With over 6,300 product enhancements delivered to CargoWise in the last five years and R&D investment growing 28% to $175 million in 1H26, the company is simultaneously investing at high levels while laying the groundwork for structurally lower costs in future periods.

e2open Integration: Synergies Delivered Ahead of Schedule

The acquisition of e2open — a cloud-based trade and supply chain SaaS platform serving over 500,000 connected enterprises — was one of the most significant strategic decisions in WiseTech's history. At $2.4 billion, it represented a substantial commitment of Capital and came with meaningful integration risk. The early results, however, have been genuinely encouraging. WiseTech successfully achieved its FY27 cost synergy target of $50 million annualised run rate savings in January 2026 — nearly a year and a half earlier than originally planned. This demonstrates that management's integration capabilities are meeting the challenge, and it removes one of the key risk overhangs that concerned investors at the time of the acquisition announcement.

The e2open acquisition significantly expanded WiseTech's total addressable market. CargoWise already addressed the logistics execution layer of global trade, but e2open adds functionality across supply chain planning, global trade management, and Demand sensing for major manufacturers and retailers. Together, the combined business is positioned across what management describes as the $11 trillion global logistics market and the $24 trillion global trade market.

Commercial Model Transition and LGFF Momentum

WiseTech's transition from the legacy seat-fee commercial model to the new CargoWise Value Pack model — which charges based on transaction volumes rather than user count — is a pivotal strategic shift. Approximately 95% of CargoWise customers are now live on the new model. This transition positions the company to benefit directly from growth in global trade volumes and automation adoption by its customers, rather than being constrained by the number of licensed users.

The company currently has 59 large global freight forwarder rollouts contracted, including 11 of the top 25 global freight forwarders by turnover. Eleven contracted LGFFs have less than 20% of their expected users live, creating a substantial organic revenue ramp-up opportunity as these rollouts scale.

Conclusion

WiseTech Global presents one of the most compelling — and most complex — investment narratives on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2026. The 64% share price decline over the past year has occurred against a backdrop of extraordinary business growth, a transformative acquisition, ahead-of-schedule synergy delivery, and one of the most aggressive AI-led transformation programs seen in the Australian technology sector. The gap between the current price and the broker targets of A$72 to A$78.75 is extraordinary, and it reflects genuine uncertainty about the pace of Earnings recovery, the success of the AI headcount reduction program, and the integration trajectory of e2open. For investors with a long time horizon and tolerance for the complexity of a business in deep transformation, WiseTech's fundamental competitive position — dominant platform software in a critical global industry — remains as compelling as ever.