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Appen
(Sydney:APX)
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Rating:60Neutral
Price Target:
AU$1.50
▲(82.93% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:08/27/26
The score reflects improving but still uneven fundamentals: persistent losses and volatile revenue/margins weigh on financial performance, partially offset by better recent cash generation and manageable leverage. Technicals are notably supportive with price above key moving averages and positive momentum indicators. The latest earnings call adds confidence via reaffirmed FY-26 guidance, China-driven growth, and identified efficiencies, though segment weakness in Appen Global and near-term cash use remain key risks.
Positive Factors
China Growth
Rapid China growth, stronger gross margins from GenAI work and pre-built datasets, and a rising revenue run rate provide a scalable growth engine that can support group expansion over the next several months.
Negative Factors
Persistent Losses
Several years of net losses and negative EBIT margins indicate that the business has not yet established durable profitability. Continued earnings weakness has also eroded equity, limiting resilience if growth or efficiency targets disappoint.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
China Growth
Rapid China growth, stronger gross margins from GenAI work and pre-built datasets, and a rising revenue run rate provide a scalable growth engine that can support group expansion over the next several months.
Read all positive factors
Appen (APX) vs. iShares MSCI Australia ETF (EWA)
Market Cap
AU$409.50M
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)1.76M
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)3.10
Revenue Growth0.60%
EPS Growth4.13%
CountryAU
Employees1,164
SectorTechnology
Sector Strength88
IndustryInformation Technology Services
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-0.08
Shares Outstanding268,523,650
10 Day Avg. Volume1,778,676
30 Day Avg. Volume1,764,209
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.15
Price to Book (P/B)2.23
Price to Sales (P/S)0.89
P/FCF Ratio10.79
Enterprise Value/Market CapN/A
Enterprise Value/RevenueN/A
Enterprise Value/Gross ProfitN/A
Enterprise Value/EbitdaN/A
Forecast
1Y Price TargetN/A
Price Target UpsideN/A
Rating ConsensusN/A
Number of Analyst Covering0
EPS Forecast (FY)0.01
Revenue Forecast (FY)AU$280.59M
Appen Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Appen Limited operates as an AI lifecycle company that provides data sourcing, data annotation, and model evaluation solutions in Australia, the United States, and internationally. It operates through the Appen Global and Appen China segments. The...
How the Company Makes Money
Appen primarily makes money by selling data services used to train, test, and improve machine-learning models, typically for enterprise and technology customers building AI-enabled products. Key revenue streams generally include: (1) Data annotati...
Appen Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Aug 26, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Mar 01, 2027
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed clear commercial progress and materially positive momentum driven by Appen China (80% YoY growth and >$175M run rate), an improvement in underlying EBITDA (+$7.5M) and a concrete $12M efficiency program. Offsetting these positives are a notable decline in Appen Global revenue (-26.9% YoY), modest gross margin pressure, and a small operating cash outflow in the half. Management reaffirmed FY'26 guidance, stated the cash runway is sufficient, and expects most efficiency benefits to flow through by Q2 FY'27. On balance the strengths—particularly China growth, EBITDA improvement and identified cost savings—outweigh the segment challenges and near-term cash use.Positive Updates
Group Revenue Growth
Total group revenue of $119.9M for H1 FY'26, up ~17.5% year-on-year, driven by strong China performance and growth in new LLM-related projects.
Negative Updates
Appen Global Revenue Decline
Appen Global revenue for H1 FY'26 was $43.7M, down 26.9% YoY; growth in new areas has not yet fully offset reductions in traditional work, leaving the segment below prior-year levels for the half.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Group Revenue Growth
Total group revenue of $119.9M for H1 FY'26, up ~17.5% year-on-year, driven by strong China performance and growth in new LLM-related projects.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Appen reaffirmed FY‑26 guidance of group revenue of $270–300 million and an underlying EBITDA before FX margin of 5–10%, after delivering H1 revenue of $119.9 million (up ~17–17.5% YoY), underlying EBITDA before FX of $5.3 million (H1 margin 4.5%, a $7.5 million improvement YoY), gross margin of 36.7% (down 30 bps), Appen China H1 revenue $76.2 million (up 80.4% YoY) and an annualized China run‑rate >$175 million (from $135 million at end‑2025), Appen Global H1 revenue $43.7 million (down 26.9% YoY) but Q2 Global revenue ex‑largest client +65% vs Q1, and with $12 million of identified operational efficiencies (≈70% to be executed in FY‑26, remainder in Q1 FY‑27); cash at 30 June was $44.7 million (AUD 64.8m) and cash used in operations was $2.7 million, with management noting H2 seasonality and confidence that the cost saves and demand trends will support the full‑year guidance.Appen Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
28
Negative
Balance Sheet
62
Positive
Cash Flow
55
Neutral
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 238.82M | 234.28M | 273.01M | 388.13M | 446.18M |
| Gross Profit | 7.75M | 37.86M | 22.17M | 56.38M | 107.61M |
| EBITDA | 10.64M | 2.07M | -22.48M | 13.03M | 73.43M |
| Net Income | -22.58M | -12.38M | -80.39M | -235.68M | 27.54M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 152.57M | 170.59M | 154.98M | 256.91M | 500.62M |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 59.86M | 54.81M | 32.12M | 23.61M | 47.73M |
| Total Debt | 9.40M | 16.83M | 11.58M | 10.18M | 15.01M |
| Total Liabilities | 57.90M | 56.27M | 62.29M | 107.78M | 109.95M |
| Stockholders Equity | 94.67M | 114.32M | 92.59M | 149.13M | 390.67M |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 19.60M | -3.96M | -42.79M | -9.57M | 29.77M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 23.77M | -623.07K | -23.53M | 17.97M | 52.07M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -17.22M | -13.08M | -21.43M | -31.66M | -49.08M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -5.02M | 37.74M | 54.03M | -9.39M | -13.66M |
Appen Technical Analysis
Positive
0.82
Price Trends
1.11
Positive
1.20
Positive
1.19
Positive
Market Momentum
0.11
Positive
61.41
Neutral
69.49
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For AU:APX, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 0.82 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 1.39, below the 50-day MA of 1.11, and below the 200-day MA of 1.19, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.11 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 61.41 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 69.49 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for AU:APX.
Appen Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
70 Outperform | AU$63.31M | 28.57 | 6.93% | ― | 9.44% | 77.78% | |
68 Neutral | AU$1.82B | 31.94 | 60.74% | 2.93% | 6.37% | 13.05% | |
62 Neutral | AU$46.70M | 37.73 | 3.15% | 2.94% | -7.66% | ― | |
61 Neutral | $37.18B | 12.37 | -10.20% | 1.83% | 8.50% | -7.62% | |
60 Neutral | AU$409.50M | -12.32 | -22.79% | ― | 0.60% | 4.13% | |
44 Neutral | AU$42.56M | -2.94 | -17.85% | ― | -30.24% | -52.96% | |
43 Neutral | AU$262.31M | 99.07 | 3.34% | ― | 17.94% | ― |
* Technology Sector Average
AU:APX
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Appen Corporate Events
Appen to Brief Investors on Half-Year 2026 Results via Webinar
Aug 26, 2026
Appen released an investor presentation alongside its half-year financial results for the period ended 30 June 2026, with management scheduled to present the materials to investors and analysts via a webinar. The release underscores the company...
Appen Updates Registered Office Address in Sydney
Aug 18, 2026
Appen Limited, a Sydney-based global leader in AI lifecycle data services, has updated its registered and business address to Suite 8.03, Level 8, 1 Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000. The change is effective immediately and comes as the company conti...
Appen sets investor webinar for H1 FY26 results release
Aug 11, 2026
Appen Limited will release its half-year financial results for the period ended 30 June 2026 on 27 August 2026, underscoring its ongoing communication with investors as a leading provider of data for the AI lifecycle. The company’s core busi...
Appen boosts revenue and margins as China AI data business surges
Jul 29, 2026
Appen reported Q2 FY26 revenue of $65.1 million, up 26% year on year and 19% on the prior quarter, lifting first-half revenue to $119.9 million, a 17% increase. Underlying EBITDA before FX improved to $4.4 million for the quarter and $5.3 million ...
Appen Issues Over 6.5 Million Unquoted Performance Rights Under Employee Scheme
Jul 13, 2026
Appen Limited has notified the market of the issuance of 6,588,909 unquoted performance rights under its employee incentive scheme, with an issue date of June 30, 2026. The move underscores the company’s continued use of equity-based compens...
Appen Announces Lapse of 146,419 Unvested Performance Rights
Jul 13, 2026
Appen Limited has announced the cessation of 146,419 performance rights under the ASX code APXAB, after the conditional rights lapsed because the specified vesting conditions were not met or were no longer capable of being satisfied as at June 30,...
Appen boosts director equity stake through incentive share issue
Jun 9, 2026
Appen Limited has disclosed a change in the equity holdings of director Ryan Kolln, who received an additional 239,417 ordinary shares at no cash consideration. This issuance relates to his short-term incentive awards for the 2024 and 2025 financi...
Appen Grants CEO Equity Incentives Through New Share Issuance
Jun 5, 2026
Appen Limited has issued new fully paid ordinary shares to its CEO and managing director as part of the company’s short-term incentive awards for the 2024 and 2025 financial years, following shareholder approval at its 22 May 2026 annual gen...
Appen Increases Director Ryan Kolln’s Performance Rights Holding
Jun 4, 2026
Appen has disclosed a change in the equity interests of director Ryan Kolln, who received a grant of 3,024,260 performance rights at no cash consideration. Following the grant, approved by shareholders at the 22 May 2026 annual general meeting, Ko...
Appen Issues Over 3 Million Unquoted Performance Rights Under Employee Scheme
Jun 4, 2026
Appen Limited has issued 3,024,260 unquoted performance rights under its employee incentive scheme, effective June 3, 2026. The new rights, which will not be quoted on the ASX, expand the company’s pool of equity-based rewards and are likely...
Appen Seeks ASX Quotation for 264,321 New Ordinary Shares
Jun 1, 2026
Appen Limited has applied for quotation on the ASX of 264,321 fully paid ordinary shares, to be traded under its existing APX code from June 1, 2026. The new securities arise from the lifting of transfer restrictions on shares previously issued un...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.