Despite a turbulent FY26, these five ASX 200 stocks massively outperformed the market, driven by breakthroughs in healthcare, mining and defence.
Disclaimer: This article is general information and for education and entertainment purposes only. It does not take into account your personal circumstances. Full disclaimer below.
FY26 was… a lot.
War broke out in the Middle East, shutting down the Strait of Hormuz which sent oil and petrol prices climbing. Much to the horror of Aussie mortgage holders, the RBA responded to the resulting inflation spike by hiking the cash rate rather than cutting it.
Mortgage owners trying to keep it together in FY26
Somehow through it all, the sharemarket still found a way to have a good year.
In FY26, the ASX 200 climbed a modest 2.77% and delivered total returns (including dividends) of 7%. That's actually enough to have it outrun the broader All Ords Index (top 500 Australian shares), which returned 5.69% including dividends.
But the index number only tells half the story. Underneath it, a handful of stocks well outperformed the overall market. We've dug through the year's results to bring you the five best-performing ASX 200 stocks by share price growth in FY26.
A quick note before we dive in: these are historical results, and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Several of these are small-cap, single-sector stocks (mining, biotech, defence) that can be highly volatile - the same swings that drove them up can just as easily happen in reverse.
4DMedical was the standout of the entire ASX 200 this year, with its share price rocketing 1,786% to close FY26 at $4.53. Along the way, the stock touched a record $7.55 in April.
The respiratory imaging company's big break came in September 2025, when it secured US FDA approval for its CT:VQ product. It's a world-first technology that takes a standard chest CT scan and turns it into a detailed picture of how well air and blood are actually moving through the lungs, without any extra dyes or injections needed.
Since getting the green light, CT:VQ has been rolled out at some heavyweight US hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, Stanford, Cleveland Clinic, UC San Diego Health, University of Chicago Medicine and the University of Miami. When your tech starts turning up in that company, the market tends to notice.
Gold miners had a big moment in FY26, and Minerals 260 rode it harder than most, with shares up 508% to finish the year at 73 cents. The stock even hit a record $1 last month.
Minerals 260 is developing the Bullabulling Gold Project, located 25km south-west of Kalgoorlie in WA's Eastern Goldfields. It's shaping up as one of Australia's largest near-term gold mines.
The company also locked in a $220 million funding deal with gold royalty Franco-Nevada Corporation this year, giving the project some serious backing to move toward development.
Lithium rebounded hard this year, and Elevra Lithium was one of the biggest winners, with shares up 327% to $9.60. The stock hit a 52-week high of $14.06 in May.
Elevra was formed through the merger of Piedmont Lithium and Sayona Mining, giving it a genuinely global footprint with mines and development projects spread across Québec, North Carolina, Ghana and Western Australia.
The real driver, though, has been the commodity itself. After years of oversupply, lithium prices have snapped back. Rising demand for batteries, EVs and grid storage is finally catching up to supply.
Staying on the lithium train, PLS Group (formerly Pilbara Minerals) added 275% to close FY26 at $5.02, with shares briefly reaching a record $6.81 last month.
PLS Group is the largest lithium miner on the ASX by market cap, and its flagship Pilgangoora Operation is one of the world's largest independent hard-rock lithium mines. Like Elevra, it's been a direct beneficiary of the Lithium turnaround this year.
But there’s been a recent plot twist. Since the start of June, PLS shares have dropped around 27%. The drama isn't really anything going wrong at PLS itself (production and costs are both tracking nicely) it's more that traders can't agree on how long lithium prices can stay this hot. Some reckon the stock's gotten a bit ahead of itself, others are still all in.
Rounding out the top five is defence technology company Electro Optic Systems, up 277% to finish the year at $10.30, after hitting a record $12.58 last month.
EOS develops advanced weapons technology that can detect and shoot down drones and shares have been on a strong run as global defence spending ramped up significantly. Most notably, in FY26 EOS secured a string of Middle Eastern contracts, including $64 million worth of counter-drone orders.
Then in June, EOS completed its acquisition of MARSS, a company specialising in AI-powered detection and battle-tested command systems also used to respond to threats like drones. Investors were pretty pleased with this strategic union.
From gold and lithium to defence tech and healthcare software, FY26's top performers were a reminder that the biggest gains sometimes come from the most unexpected corners of the market. Did you have any of these companies in your portfolio?
Disclaimer: Flux Technologies Pty Ltd (ABN 86 634 507 172) is an authorised representative (Representative No. 525288) of Mozo Pty Ltd who is the holder of AFSL No. 328141. We also provide general advice on credit products under our own Australian Credit Licence No. 530103. The product information presented does not constitute an offer and we are not recommending or suggesting any particular product. Any product advice presented is of a general nature only, and is not to be taken as any sort of advice as it has not taken into account your personal circumstances, objectives, financial situation or needs. Flux may not cover all products available to you. Check out our Credit Guide and Financial Services Guide for more information.
All information contained in the Flux app, www.flux.finance, www.joinflux.com, app.flux.finance and any podcast of Flux Media Pty Ltd (ABN 27 639 804 345) is for education and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional financial, legal or tax advice. Flux Media Pty Ltd is the owner of the registered trade mark, 'What the Flux'. While we do our best to provide accurate information on the podcast, we accept no responsibility for any inaccuracies that may be communicated.
Sign up for Flux and join 100,000 members of the Flux family
