Buy Hold Sell: 8 winners, losers and best ideas across ASX small-caps

Reporting season is done and dusted for another six months. And as my colleagues have pointed out in their respective wrap-ups, for all the angst heading in, Australian companies came out of it in better shape than many expected.

The backdrop, however, is a different story. Bond yields have pushed higher, the consumer is weakening, inflation remains sticky, and uncertainty is the only certainty on the horizon. If you had to sum it up in one line: it's tough out there.

We kick off this two-part reporting season wrap-up of Buy Hold Sell with the small caps, and in light of the doom and gloom, we asked our guests to bring a positive insight they took from the season. For Ben Richards of Seneca, it was the breadth of the market, with the Small Ordinaries rising 6% while the ASX 200 remained broadly flat. For Steve Johnson from Forager Funds, it was the return to form for software companies - reliable revenue, improving margins, and the SaaS apocalypse narrative finally creating some discipline in the space.

We unpack six small-cap stocks in this episode, the ones who were solid from the ones who were sold off, and sort out the winners form the losers (plus a few bonus picks).

Keep an eye out for our next episode with Tom Stelzer covering the large caps.

This episode was filmed Wednesday 2nd September 2026. 

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Episode summary

1 - Lovisa (ASX: LOV)

Ben Richards - BUY
His verdict: Undemanding valuation, strong store rollout pipeline in Asia and the US, and an insider buying shares for the first time in years.
What he said: "Historically, when you buy this business on 20 times earnings, you tend to do well. No need to reinvent the wheel."

Steve Johnson - SELL
His verdict: Likes the business and has owned it before, but it's still too expensive - and a new local competitor is gaining ground.
What he said: "It's a risk that wasn't there five years ago that has me a bit more concerned than I would've been."

2 - Bravura Solutions (ASX: BVS )

Steve Johnson — HOLD
His verdict: Probably the best turnaround he's ever seen but the share price has run hard and weighting is coming down.
What he said: "For people that are happy collecting divvies and cash flow and owning a pretty safe, reliable business, I still think this is okay."

Ben Richards - SELL
His verdict: A cost-out story trading at a record multiple - top line growth is slowing and there are better alternatives.
What he said: "Hats off to the investors who rode that turnaround. But from here, the growth is probably going to be more muted."

3 - SKS Technologies (ASX: SKS)

Ben Richards - SELL
His verdict: The electrical contractor space has rerated from 10x to 20x earnings - frothy, and these businesses can't scale infinitely.
What he said: "There's a bit of a bubble brewing in this electrical contractor space."

Steve Johnson - SELL
His verdict: Great business right now, but a high multiple of very high earnings. When the data centre boom ends, margins will normalise.
What he said: "It's a hundred times the earnings it was making just two years ago. This will end at some point."

4 - Australian Finance Group (ASX: AFG)

Steve Johnson - HOLD
His verdict: Decent business at a sensible multiple, but the housing market has him watching rather than buying.
What he said: "I'm actually quite petrified about the housing market - and that's why I've said hold."

Ben Richards - BUY
His verdict: Oversold at $1.50 - strong loan book, conservative lending history, 7x PE, 10% gross dividend yield, and directors buying.
What he said: "They've only had bad debts of $268,000 in a loan book of billions over 15 years. That's a really strong management track record."

5 - PEXA Group (ASX: PXA)

Ben Richards - BUY
His verdict: Regulatory fears are overcooked — at 11x EV/EBITDA the worst is priced in, and directors were buying Wednesday morning.
What he said: "You're getting the Australian monopoly on the cheap and the UK for nothing."

Steve Johnson - SELL
His verdict: Too much regulatory uncertainty - he can't price where the IPART review lands.
What he said: "I've never seen a software business be declared a monopoly and therefore regulated. It's just too much risk for me."

6 - Navigator Global Investments (ASX: NGI)

Steve Johnson - BUY
His verdict: FUM ended the year 20% higher, earnings quality has improved, and 2027 is set up strongly.
What he said: "It's less performance fee dependent now — and that's actually improved the quality of the earnings."

Ben Richards - HOLD
His verdict: Trading at a slight premium to book after running hard from a 60% discount in 2023.
What he said: "I think the easy money's probably been made here, hence the hold."

BONUS PICKS

7 - HMC Capital (ASX: HMC)

Ben Richards - BUY
His verdict: Three headline issues all on their way to resolution. At current prices you're getting the fund manager for free.
What he said: "It's trading effectively at NTA of its co-investments and you're getting the fund manager for free."

8 - Motorcycle Holdings (ASX: MTO)

Steve Johnson - BUY
His verdict: 20% market share, 6% fully franked yield, 8x earnings - not flashy, but it pays and grows.
What he said: "It's not one I expect to double or triple, but it's a nice little stock in the portfolio that pays us divvies every year and grows alongside it."