Best Stocks to Buy Now on the Australian Stock Market (ASX)

Australia’s sharemarket is in an odd mood right now: the S&P/ASX 200 is hovering in the mid‑8500s after several sessions of flat, slightly negative trading, as investors wait for the next move from the Reserve Bank of Australia. ^[1]
Beneath that sleepy headline index, though, you’ve got big rotations: materials are up more than 26% year to date and leading every other sector, while the heavyweight financials have recently suffered one of their worst months since 2022. ^[2]

That mix – booming miners, wobbling banks, and a cautious central bank – is exactly the kind of backdrop where “best stocks to buy now” really means “best stocks for your mix of growth, income and risk.”

Below is a news-style rundown of high‑conviction ASX ideas being highlighted right now (as of 9 December 2025) by major brokers, research houses and screeners. It’s information, not personal advice – treat this as a curated shopping list, not a pre‑packed trolley.

1. Where the ASX stands on 9 December 2025

Before picking stocks, it helps to know what kind of market you’re buying into:

Index level: The S&P/ASX 200 is trading around the high‑8500s after slipping ~0.1–0.4% over Monday and Tuesday’s sessions. ^[3]
Short‑term trend: Market Index describes this as the sixth straight session of “flattish price action” with narrow ranges and weak breadth (two‑thirds of stocks down on the day). ^[4]
Sector rotation:
- Materials have “roared back to life,” up more than 26% in 2025 and the best‑performing major ASX sector. ^[5]
- Financials recently had a brutal month, down ~7.6% month‑to‑date in late November, their worst since mid‑2022. ^[6]
Macro backdrop: The market is nervously watching the RBA, with traders increasingly betting on a possible rate hike in early 2026 after stronger‑than‑expected inflation, while global commodity prices (notably copper) have been strong. ^[7]

Translation: this isn’t a “everything rallies together” market. Stock selection actually matters.

2. How we’re defining “best stocks to buy now”

For December 2025, the most credible “best stock” lists are coming from:

Broker high‑conviction lists (e.g. Morgans, Macquarie, Morningstar).
Algorithmic screeners that filter for fundamentals like earnings, volatility and size (e.g. Finder’s ASX stock screen). ^[8]
Specialist dividend research looking at franked income and payout sustainability. ^[9]

To keep this useful rather than overwhelming, we’ll group ideas into four buckets:

Large‑cap quality compounders.
Dividend and franking heroes.
Growth and “rebound” plays.
Resources winners from the new commodity cycle.

Within each bucket, the names below are currently being flagged as buys or high‑conviction ideas by well‑known research sources. That doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed winners – but they’re where a lot of professional attention is focused.

3. Large‑cap quality compounders: Morgans’ December 2025 “Best Ideas”

Broker Morgans updated its “Best Ideas” large‑cap list on 9 December 2025, keeping four stalwarts and adding five new names they see as offering the best risk‑adjusted returns over the next 12 months. ^[10]

3.1 CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) – Healthcare blue‑chip with renewed momentum

Category: Healthcare
Morgans view: CSL stays on the list as a core growth holding, with the Behring plasma business and cost savings expected to deliver solid earnings growth. They see ~39% total shareholder return over 12 months at their target price of ~$249. ^[11]

Why it’s on “best stocks now” lists:
CSL is the classic “quality compounder” – global scale, strong balance sheet, and historically resilient earnings. In a market where junky “loss‑makers” have been leading, brokers like Morgans and Macquarie both expect a re‑rotation back toward quality names like this. ^[12]

3.2 Amcor (ASX: AMC) – Defensive dividend machine

Category: Industrial / global packaging
Morgans: Sees Amcor as a defensive earner on a cheap multiple with a forecast FY26 dividend yield around 6.2%. ^[13]
Morningstar: Calls it the world’s largest plastic packaging provider, trading at a discount to a fair value estimate of $17.80 and forecasting ~6.2–6.4% yields in FY26–27. ^[14]

Why it matters now:
In a volatile macro environment, Amcor is effectively a global “staples wrapped in plastic” play – food and beverage packaging tends to hold up even in slowdowns, and both income‑focused and value investors are paying attention.

3.3 Woodside Energy Group (ASX: WDS) – High‑yield energy with valuation upside

Category: Oil & gas
Morgans: Retains Woodside as a best idea with a 12‑month target of $30.60 and a forecast FY26 dividend yield around 6%. ^[15]
Morningstar / Livewire: Puts Woodside in its top fully‑franked dividend picks, projecting FY26 yield of about 7.7% (11% grossed up) and calling the stock undervalued versus a $45 fair value. ^[16]

Woodside shows up on multiple independent lists – Morgans’ best ideas, Morningstar’s dividend report and fully‑franked top‑11 – which is rare and worth noting.

3.4 Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) – Industrial property growth story

Category: Property / logistics
Morgans: Highlights Goodman as a leader in industrial property with a strong balance sheet and multiple growth drivers, including logistics and data‑centre demand, targeting FY26 PE of ~23 and TSR ~21%. ^[17]

In a world where some REITs are still being punished for higher rates, Goodman is widely viewed as a “good property in the right places” play rather than just another bond proxy.

3.5 New additions: REA, TechnologyOne, LGI, GPT & Flight Centre

Morgans’ fresh large‑cap additions for December are:

REA Group (ASX: REA) – Online property listings leader, with strong pricing power and an improving volume outlook after a pullback. ^[18]
TechnologyOne (ASX: TNE) – SaaS software provider with a long history of beating growth expectations; Morgans sees recent share price weakness as a better entry point. ^[19]
LGI (ASX: LGI) – Renewables and hybrid electricity sites (generation + storage), with a pipeline towards 80+ MW installed and a high growth profile. ^[20]
GPT Group (ASX: GPT) – Diversified REIT trading near its net tangible asset backing, with a shift to a more capital‑light funds management model and a projected FY26 distribution yield ~4.5%. ^[21]
Flight Centre (ASX: FLT) – Travel agency group where Morgans expects profit growth to accelerate through FY26, supported by a resumed $200m buyback and what they call “cheap” multiples. ^[22]

These names together form a kind of “core portfolio starter pack” for investors who want big, liquid names with decent growth or income, and actual broker numbers behind them.

4. Dividend and franking heroes: income ideas for 2026 and beyond

If your main goal is income (especially franked income), there’s a pretty tight consensus on where to look right now.

4.1 Morningstar’s fully‑franked favourites

Morningstar’s Australian Dividend Outlook work has been widely shared through NABtrade and Livewire, with a list of 11 fully‑franked stocks and projected FY26 yields. Standouts include: ^[23]

Viva Energy (ASX: VEA) – Projected FY26 yield around 9.1%, viewed as veering toward undervalued, with a turnaround story driven by converting Coles Express sites to the higher‑margin OTR format. ^[24]
Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) – Again, projected FY26 yield ~7.7% (somewhere around 11% grossed‑up with franking) and rated “Buy” by Morningstar and brokers tracked on Market Index. ^[25]
Woolworths (ASX: WOW) – Lower yield (around mid‑3% projections) but prized for defensive earnings, brand strength and a solid moat. ^[26]
Steadfast Group (ASX: SDF) – Insurance broker with a modest yield but very consistent dividend growth; it’s the only name on the list rated “Strong Buy” in Market Index’s consensus data. ^[27]

Morningstar and NABtrade both emphasise that utilities, real estate, energy and financials currently offer the highest yields, with utilities and REITs also expected to grow dividends into FY26–27. ^[28]

4.2 Bell Potter’s best dividend shares: Harvey Norman & Universal Store

A recent piece syndicated by Webull from The Motley Fool Australia outlines Bell Potter’s two “high‑conviction” dividend buys for December: ^[29]

Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX: HVN)
- Bell Potter has a buy rating and a price target of $8.30.
- They highlight Harvey Norman’s dual role as retailer and significant property owner, with a global freehold portfolio north of $4.5 billion and roughly 40% of stores owned.
- The broker expects fully‑franked dividends of about 30.9 cents (FY26) and 35.3 cents (FY27), which implies forward yields in the mid‑4% range at recent prices. ^[30]
Universal Store Holdings (ASX: UNI)
- Also rated buy, with a target of $10.50.
- Bell Potter calls out its youth‑focused apparel positioning, roughly 85 Universal Store outlets plus expansion of “Perfect Stranger” and “Thrills” formats.
- At around 18x FY26 earnings, they see the valuation as a discount to retail peers given store rollout, private‑label growth and margin upside; projected fully‑franked dividends for FY26–27 again sit roughly in the mid‑4% yield range on current prices. ^[31]

Paired with names like Woodside, Viva Energy and Woolworths, this gives income investors a mix of energy, consumer and financial exposure rather than just loading up on bank stocks.

5. Growth and rebound plays: where brokers see upside

If dividends are dessert rather than the main course for you, the more interesting lists are the ones focused on earnings revisions and structural growth.

5.1 Macquarie’s “ready to run” rebound list

In a late‑November note, Macquarie argued that the recent pullback in the ASX 200 is a correction, not a collapse, and that the market should find support around the 200‑day moving average. They remain positive on growth into 2026 and think companies with improving earnings revisions will lead the rebound. ^[32]

Their eight outperform‑rated picks include: ^[33]

Australian Finance Group (ASX: AFG) – Mortgage aggregator with 1Q26 mortgage lodgement volumes up 26% and stabilising market share.
Zip Co (ASX: Z1P) – Buy‑now‑pay‑later name where Macquarie notes improving cash margins and strong US transaction growth after exiting loss‑making markets.
Eagers Automotive (ASX: APE) – Leveraged to improving consumer confidence and auto demand.
Jumbo Interactive (ASX: JIN) – Online lottery reseller, which reconfirmed FY26 guidance across its UK and US businesses.
Aussie Broadband (ASX: ABB) and Megaport (ASX: MP1) – Both seen as beneficiaries of strong subscriber/add‑on growth and upbeat FY26 EBITDA guidance.
Amotiv (ASX: AOV) – Automotive products business with affirmed FY26 EBITDA targets and pricing improvements.
ResMed (ASX: RMD) – Sleep‑apnoea device maker with margin expansion and an EPS beat, seen as a defensive growth story.

Macquarie’s logic is very “markets are weird but mean‑reverting”: while junky loss‑makers have been the best performers in 2025, they don’t expect that to last, and they favour companies with decent quality and improving earnings upgrades. ^[34]

5.2 Tech & growth names popping up in multiple lists

Even with technology and healthcare screens as “less attractive” for dividend yield, ^[35] a few growth names keep reappearing across different December‑era articles:

TechnologyOne (ASX: TNE) – On Morgans’ large‑cap best ideas list (see above) and highlighted for 15–20% profit‑before‑tax growth targets and a long track record of meeting or beating guidance. ^[36]
ResMed (ASX: RMD) – A Macquarie rebound pick and also one of the three “top ASX shares for long‑term growth” named in a 6 December piece by The Motley Fool Australia, alongside Life360 (ASX: 360) and TechnologyOne. ^[37]
Life360 (ASX: 360) – Family‑tracking and safety app that frequently appears in growth‑stock features, with Market Index’s live blog pointing out its volatility and relevance to the ASX 200 discussion. ^[38]

In other words, the growth bucket is skewed toward software, connectivity and niche financials – but the brokers currently prefer names showing actual cash flow and earnings beats, rather than speculative “story stocks.”

6. Resources winners: miners back in fashion

The resources sector is in the middle of a narrative glow‑up:

Livewire notes that the materials sector is up more than 26% year to date and is the best‑performing major ASX sector in 2025. ^[39]
A long‑form December analysis from Discovery Alert argues that, after a three‑year downturn, supply/demand fundamentals for many metals are improving, with upgrades to consensus commodity price forecasts and stronger earnings expectations for ASX miners. ^[40]

6.1 Big miners in algorithmic “best stocks” lists

Finder’s proprietary screener – which filters for market cap > $100m, at least 5 years’ listing history, positive medium‑term price growth and lower volatility – named 10 “best ASX stocks for 2025” in late November. The list is heavy on resources and energy, including: ^[41]

Fortescue (ASX: FMG) – Major iron ore player with double‑digit 1‑ and 5‑year performance metrics.
Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) – Diversified miner with strong 5‑year returns and ongoing capital management.
Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) and Santos (ASX: STO) – Oil and gas names with robust dividends and leverage to energy prices.

Finder explicitly frames these as “stocks to watch” rather than personalised recommendations, but their algorithm is trying to capture exactly the combination of earnings, price performance and volatility that many investors look for. ^[42]

6.2 BHP and the energy‑transition metals story

Discovery Alert’s December sector piece highlights BHP Group as a key beneficiary of the copper story – noting that electric vehicles use around four times as much copper as conventional cars, and that supply constraints support higher long‑term copper prices. ^[43]

With BHP’s mix of iron ore, copper and other base metals, the article positions it as a way to gain both classic commodity‑cycle exposure and structural demand from electrification and the energy transition. ^[44]

For investors who don’t want to pick individual miners, the same piece highlights resources ETFs like QRE and OZR as ways to get sector‑wide exposure while reducing single‑stock risk. ^[45]

7. How to actually use these “best stocks” lists

So, what do you do with this pile of tickers and broker views without turning your portfolio into chaos?

Here’s a sensible way to think about it:

Build a core with quality large caps.
Names like CSL, Amcor, Goodman, REA and TechnologyOne sit in this bucket: profitable, scalable businesses with broker‑backed growth or income and long track records. ^[46]
Layer in income stocks that fit your tax situation.
Fully‑franked names (Woodside, Viva Energy, Woolworths, Steadfast, Harvey Norman, Universal Store) may be particularly attractive in Australian tax settings, but they still carry sector‑specific risks like energy prices and consumer spending. ^[47]
Add selective growth and rebound ideas.
That could mean one or two Macquarie “rebound” names like Aussie Broadband or Megaport, and perhaps a structural grower like Life360 or ResMed – but only if you can tolerate real volatility. ^[48]
Decide how much resources risk you actually want.
With materials up 26% this year already, you’re not getting in at the bottom. But miners like BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto are still central to energy‑transition and infrastructure themes, and multiple research shops argue we’re at the start of a better commodity earnings cycle. ^[49]
Stay aware of macro landmines.
- The RBA could still surprise with higher‑for‑longer rates. ^[50]
- The ASX 200 has already had a strong multi‑year run; sideways action into the year‑end is perfectly normal. ^[51]
- Sector moves can reverse quickly – financials’ rough patch in November came after a long run of outperformance. ^[52]

None of the lists above know who you are, what your time horizon is, or whether you panic‑sell at the first 10% drawdown. That’s why every one of the professional sources cited here stresses the same thing: this is general information, not tailored financial advice; do your own research; talk to a licensed adviser if you’re unsure. ^[53]

8. Final thoughts: December 2025 is a stock‑picker’s market

Putting it all together:

Quality large caps like CSL, Goodman, REA and TechnologyOne are back on broker “best ideas” lists after a period where junky, unprofitable names led the market.
High‑yield, fully‑franked names such as Woodside, Viva Energy, Steadfast and Woolworths remain the backbone of many dividend strategies. ^[54]
Growth and rebound stories – Aussie Broadband, Megaport, Zip, Life360, ResMed and others – are where you go if you’re chasing upside and can handle a bumpy ride.
Resources stocks and ETFs are again being described as an attractive long‑term allocation after a three‑year slump and in the middle of a powerful sector‑wide recovery.

References

Best Stocks to Buy Now on the Australian Stock Market (ASX) – December 2025 Guide